COLUMBUS - Leading wire-to-wire, the Columbus State University women's basketball team defeated Georgia College 66-57 on Wednesday. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

Valeria Merlos hit a 3-pointer at the 9:39 mark and the Lady Cougars never looked back. CSU was able to build a 13-point halftime lead before stretching it to a game-high 19 on multiple occasions in the third quarter. The Lady Cougars had to fend off a furious rally to secure their third straight victory.

Columbus State (15-4, 10-3 PBC) was led by a career-performance from Aryan Dozier. In her first start of the season, the sophomore had 12 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. Both were career highs while the guard also tallied four steals.

Chrisalyn Boston was 8-for-14 from the field to score a team-high 16 points. She blocked four more shots and added eight boards. LeeAysia Williamson and Kaihla Carter were both in double-figures with 10 points apiece. 

Overall, the Lady Cougars shot 37.1 percent (26-for-70) but struggled from the perimeter. CSU was 3-for-12 from three.

"What a gritty performance by Aryan," added head coach Matt Houser. "She owned the glass tonight and showed her aggressiveness on the offensive side of the court. Basketball is a true team sport, and you need outings by different players to put together a successful season."

Columbus State will have a showdown on Saturday traveling to Greenwood, S.C. for a rematch against No. 22 Lander. The Bearcats won the first meeting of the season 92-78 on Dec. 21 in Columbus.
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

Columbus State got on the board in the opening minute and raced out to an 11-5 lead by the 5:51 mark. Four different players scored early with Aryan Dozier having four of the 11. Georgia College rallied, pulling within one (11-10) following a Kenyatta Storms bucket. A late first quarter score began a streak of six straight points for CSU that saw the lead grow back to 17-10 a minute-and-half into the second quarter. Like they did earlier, the Bobcats bounced back, scoring five straight of their own to get back into the game. However this time, Columbus State had an answer. A 16-5 CSU run closed the half giving the Lady Cougars a 33-20 lead. The stretch latest nearly eight minutes with CSU's defense forcing four turnovers. LeeAysia Williamson had five of the 16 with five different players getting in on the action.

Second Half

The Lady Cougars continued to control things in the third quarter as Chrisalyn Boston laid one in to push the margin to 35-20 15 seconds in. The Bobcats were able to close the gap to 11 before Boston went to work. Over the next three-plus minutes, Boston scored six points fueling an 8-0 spurt for the Lady Cougars bringing the lead to a game-high 19 points (43-24) with 4:54 remaining in the quarter. GC regrouped, cutting into the margin by the end of the quarter to 15 (53-38). The final period was the best for Georgia College (5-16, 2-11 PBC) on the night, but it still wasn't enough. A 13-2 run started things for GC as they inched within four (55-51) of the Lady Cougar lead. The Bobcats had three straight three-point plays, including a successful and-one from Caroline Wysocki. Dozier stopped the run with a layup at the 5:13 mark while Carter hit a jumper to push the advantage back to eight at 61-53. Over the final three minutes of the game, only 11 combined points were scored with Georgia College going 1-for-7 from the floor. CSU secured the 66-57 victory at the free throw line going 5-for-8 down the stretch.

 

Inside the Numbers

• Aryan Dozier becomes just the fifth different Columbus State player to grab 20 rebounds in a game. Overall, it's the 11th time in program history with the last coming on Dec. 5, '15 (Ashley Asouzu vs. Tuskegee).  • Dozier closed the first quarter with eight boards and had 12 by halftime. • Chrisalyn Boston's 16 points were the most in a game for the junior since going for 22 against Lander on Dec. 21.  • Boston is four blocks shy of 100 in her career. She will become just the fourth player to reach the milestone at CSU. • It was the third time this season that Columbus State failed to hit four or more 3-pointers in a game.  • Prior to the final three minutes of the game, CSU was 6-for-13 at the free throw line.  • CSU doubled up GC with 36 points in the paint.  • Georgia College committed 23 turnovers in the game. It's the 13th time that CSU's defense has forced 20 or more turnovers in a game.  • Columbus State improves to 40-28 all-time against Georgia College. Since 2011-12, CSU is 17-3 against its in-state rival.