COLUMBUS - In the home regular-season finale, the Columbus State University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a fourth-quarter deficit falling 64-56 to Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday night. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

After a tough night offensively, the Lady Cougars (17-8, 12-7 PBC) only found themselves down by three entering the fourth. Five straight points to begin the final period put CSU ahead by three before the Hurricanes stormed back. A 9-0 GSW run put the guests up for good as Columbus State couldn't recover.

"This is what happens when you don't bring your best ball to the court in this league," said head coach Matt Houser. "Everyone is dangerous, and when you don't hit shots and turn the ball over, you lose games, and that's what happened tonight."

"We need to reverse things on Saturday to gain some momentum headed into the PBC Tournament. We still have plenty to play for and to accomplish as a team."

A trio of Columbus State players scored 10 points. Aujana Dawkins, Aryan Dozier, and Chrisalyn Boston all tied for the team-high in scoring. Dawkins had a double-double grabbing 10 rebounds to go with four steals. 

Columbus State shot 25.6 percent (20-for-78) from the floor and 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from 3-point range. At the free throw line, CSU was 13-for-21 (61.9%).

Up Next

Columbus State will look for revenge against Young Harris on Saturday, Feb. 29 in Young Harris, Ga. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside the YHC Basketball Arena. The Mountain Lions defeated the Lady Cougars 71-64 in Columbus on Jan. 25.

First Half

Both teams were slow out of the gate as only 14 combined points were scored in the first quarter. The two sides went 5-for-26 over the first 10 minutes to go into the second tied at seven. A 9-2 run for Georgia Southwestern began the second giving the Hurricanes a 16-9 advantage. A Kya Cochran 3-pointer capped off the spurt. The lead would get as high as nine (21-12) before Columbus State's offense got rolling. Following Dozier going 1-of-2 at the line, a LeeAysia Williamson floater in the paint and a Kaihla Carter three brought the Lady Cougars within three (21-18) with less than two minutes to go. Dozier would cap off the half with a fastbreak layup off a pass from Williamson to make it a 23-20 GSW lead at the break.

Second Half

Columbus State would continue to grind to take the lead before eventually jumping ahead 27-26 on a pair of free throws from Boston with 8:11 showing on the clock. The free throws were apart of a 9-0 CSU run that opened up a 33-26 margin for the Lady Cougars. However, Georgia Southwestern had a response. Thanks to 3-pointers over the next three-plus minutes, the Hurricanes were back ahead by one. Jamesha Samuel caught fire from beyond the arc, connecting on both treys for the Hurricanes. The lead would exchange hands a few times over the final minutes of the third before a Yasmin Perez 3-pointer gave GSW a 43-40 lead headed into the final 10 minutes of play.  Five straight points to begin the final period put CSU ahead by three before the Hurricanes stormed back. A 9-0 GSW run put the guests up for good as Columbus State couldn't recover.

Lady Cougar Notes & Trends

• On Wednesday afternoon, Columbus State was ranked 10^th in the updated NCAA Southeast Regional rankings. The top-eight teams, with three automatic bids going to conference tournament winners, will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
• CSU has lost three straight games at home.
• It was Dawkins' 10^th double-double of the season. She has 12 games with 10 or more rebounds in 2019-20.
• Columbus State had a season-high 20 steals in the game. The Lady Cougars also forced 32 turnovers by GSW.
• Three players had four steals for CSU on Wednesday (Carter, Dawkins, and Williamson).
• The 25.6 percent shooting percentage was a season-low for Columbus State.
• Georgia Southwestern blocked nine Columbus State shots. It's the most shots CSU had rejected this year.
• Columbus State will be the fourth-seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game inside the Lumpkin Center on Wednesday, March 4 against an opponent to be determined. Currently, there is a three-way tie for fifth place in the PBC standings with Young Harris, Francis Marion, and USC Aiken all holding 9-10 records heading into the final weekend of the regular-season.