AUGUSTA, Ga. - Columbus State University's 22-point third quarter lead was too much for Augusta to overcome as the Lady Cougars recorded a 71-59 victory Saturday afternoon. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga.
Coming out of the break, Kaihla Carter hit a 3-pointer to increase CSU's lead to 47-25 before Augusta began a furious rally. A 14-0 run saw the Lady Cougar margin cut to eight, 47-39, while the Jaguars made it a five-point game a few plays later following a Zairya West three at the 2:01 mark.
However, a key putback by Chrisalyn Boston and five points by Valeria Merlos in the final minute of the third increased the lead to 10, 58-48. Columbus State held a comfortable advantage over the final 10 minutes to go on for the win.
"Credit to our role players for stepping up today," commented head coach Matt Houser. "Val came up huge for us and that's what's needed to win on the road."
"It's nice to get this week behind us and it feels great to grab two road victories. The challenges are just beginning though, so we will go back to work when we get to Columbus."
Merlos paced CSU (14-4, 9-3 PBC) in scoring with 16 points going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. Aujana Dawkins recorded another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Eboni Williams and Carter each had 10 apiece.
As a team, the Lady Cougars shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) overall and 40 percent (6-for-15) from three. At the line, CSU was 9-for-14 (64.3%).
Columbus State will return to the Lumpkin Center on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to host Georgia College. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CSU will celebrate the 34th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day with the announcement of the eight student-athletes chosen for the Girls In The Game scholarships.
| Play-by-Play |
| First Half |
Zairya West hit the opening bucket of the game for Augusta (7-13, 4-8), but it was all Columbus State from there in the first quarter. Thirteen quick points by the Lady Cougars gave them a double-figure lead four minutes into the game. Four different players scored in the spurt led by five from Kaihla Carter. The shots continued to fall with the lead growing to 19 (26-7) following a free throw from Eboni Williams. CSU was 10-for-17 in the first to close the period with a 16-point advantage, 26-10. The suffocating defense continued into the second for Columbus State as the lead continued to expand. Another run, this time 11-5, gave the Lady Cougars a 37-16 lead with just over four to go until the break. Valeria Merlos hit her first three-ball of the day to cap off the stretch. The senior added another trifecta a minute later while Aryan Dozier got hot with four points over the final seconds to send CSU up 44-25 at halftime.
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| Second Half |
The third quarter was a complete 360. Following Carter's 3-pointer that gave Columbus State its largest lead of the night, things turned south for the Lady Cougars. Augusta rattled off 14 straight points to pull within single-figures before cutting it down to five, 51-46, at the two-minute mark. However, the Lady Cougars bounced back, getting a second-chance bucket from Chrisalyn Boston and five points by Merlos to extend the lead to 10 heading into the fourth. The run continued with an Eboni Williams jumper while six straight points from CSU got the margin back up to 15, 66-51, with under seven to play. Augusta got within seven after a jumper at the 4:03 mark, but that would be the last points the Jags would score.
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| Inside the Numbers |
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• Columbus State held a sizable advantage in rebounding (42-33). It's the second straight game that CSU out-rebounded its opponent by nine.
• Aujana Dawkins now has seven double-doubles, all in PBC play, this season. It was her eighth double-digit rebounding performance.
• Dawkins is third in the PBC in rebounding (8.2 reb/game). In conference play, the junior is averaging 10.3 boards per game.
• CSU had 16 second-chance points compared to four from Augusta.
• The Lady Cougars scored 26 points in the first quarter compared to just 27 second half points.
• It was the second time all year that CSU failed to collect 10 or more steals. The Lady Cougars ended the day with eight.
• Augusta went 0-for-10 over the final four minutes of play.
• CSU completed the season sweep of the Jags with the victory. All-time, the Lady Cougars are 44-12 against Augusta.
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