PENSACOLA, Fla. - A late rally by the Columbus State University women's basketball team wasn't enough on Saturday as the Lady Cougars fell 63-59 to the University of West Florida at the UWF Field House.

UWF was up 53-37 with 3:34 to go in the third quarter before the Lady Cougars turned up the heat. CSU scored five of the last six points in the quarter and continued a 14-1 run into the fourth. The spurt pulled the Lady Cougars within three, 54-51, with 6:29 to play.

After the Argonauts stretched the lead to 61-53, a Chrisalyn Boston layup and four straight points from Amber Abusbeih had CSU within two of the lead with 63 seconds to go.  

Following a timeout, UWF turned the ball over to give Columbus State a chance to tie or take the lead. However, a 3-pointer was no good, allowing West Florida to escape with the win.

Abusbeih scored 17 points for the Lady Cougars, while Boston had 16 to go with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.

Jaclyn Jarnot had a game-high 24 points thanks to a 7-for-11 shooting performance for West Florida.

Both teams were hot coming out of the gate with UWF holding a 24-19 lead after the first quarter. With Columbus State up 16-13, a key 11-1 run helped flip the game for UWF.

West Florida stretched the lead out to 33-23 with 5:41 in the second before Columbus State clawed back in the game with a quick 7-0 spurt to pull back within three. UWF quickly halted the momentum, scoring the final six points to go up 39-30 at the break.

Columbus State shot 34.4% (22-for-64) as a team, while West Florida posted a 39.0% (23-for-59) shooting performance. The Lady Cougars were 8-for-26 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT
Columbus State will have more than a week off before traveling to take on Anderson University on Monday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The five 3-pointers from Abusbieh are tied for the most by any CSU player in a single game this season
• Boston posted season-highs in points, assists and steals
• Boston has grabbed nine or more rebounds in six games this season
• UWF out-rebounded CSU 50-35
• CSU has dropped three straight