COLUMBUS - The Columbus State University women's basketball team lost a close one to Young Harris College 86-80 on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference game was played inside the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center.
With CSU down 76-75 with 4:24 to play, Young Harris scored six of the next eight points to move ahead by seven. The Lady Cougars cut the margin down to two with just 68 seconds remaining, but YHC went 4-for-4 at the free throw line to ice the game.
"For the first time playing in a month, I thought we performed pretty well," said head coach Matt Houser. "There was some rust for sure, but it was just great to get back on the court. We left too many shooters open for deep and that was just asking for trouble against one of the better 3-point shooting teams we'll face this year."
| How It Happened |
| First Half |
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CSU (2-3, 2-3 PBC) had a slow start in the first quarter as Young Harris raced out to a 9-2 lead within the first two minutes of play. However, the Lady Cougars responded as layups from Olonna Rawals and two apiece from Chrisalyn Boston and Amber Abusbeih cut the Mountain Lions' lead to one, 11-10, with just under five minutes to play in the first. Columbus State took its first lead of the day after Abusbeih nailed a 3-pointer and Jurnee Smith went 2-for-2 at the line to make it 15-14. YHC closed the quarter strong though, scoring seven of the next eight points to move ahead 22-16. Columbus State owned the second quarter as the Lady Cougars outscored YHC 25-18. CSU got going for deep with Rawls and Smith connecting from beyond the arc to cut the lead to 32-30 less than three minutes in. From there the two teams went back-and-forth until Columbus State strung together a run to take its first lead of the night. A 3-pointer by Emilia Tenbrock began a 7-0 Lady Cougar spurt that put the hosts in front 40-39 at the 3:04 mark. Boston added two more in the run, while Smith capped it off with a fastbreak layup off a Rawls steal. After the Mountain Lions went back in front in the closing minutes, a jumper by Tenbrock and an and-one by Rawls off another steal gave CSU a 45-43 halftime lead.
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| Second Half |
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Carly Winters started the second half with two 3's for Young Harris as the Mountain Lions retook the lead at 49-46 a minute into the third quarter. The Lady Cougars responded again, this time an 11-2 run, to take a game-high six-point lead, 57-51, at the 5:43 mark. Back-to-back old-fashion 3-point plays by Rawls and Dozier started it all with Dozier scoring seven of the 11 points in the stretch. The game of runs would continue as Young Harris had an answer. The Mountain Lions closed the quarter out by scoring 15 of the final 19 points to enter the fourth in front 66-61. Abusbeih had CSU's only field goal in the run as the freshman connected one from downtown. In the fourth, Columbus State didn't fade after another Winters 3-pointer made it an eight-point deficit, 69-61, with under nine to go. A few moments later, Boston laid one in that began a stretch of seven straight CSU points that tied the game at 71. Boston had another bucket while Rawls knotted the contest with a trey with just 6:45 remaining. Down the stretch, Columbus State was unable to take the lead despite having a few opportunities to do so. YHC went ahead by seven, 82-75, after six straight points before one last comeback attempt by Lady Cougars. A three-point play by Boston with 68 seconds to go brought CSU within two, 82-80, but four YHC free throws over the final minute iced the game.
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| Box Score Breakdown |
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• Rawls scored 19 points, had a season-high seven assists and three steals. The freshman made three 3-pointers and shot 6-for-13 from the field. She was also 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Boston matched Rawls with 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds (6 off. & 5 def.) It's the fourth double-double for the senior in five games this season. She also added three steals.
• Thanks to three 3-pointers, Abusbeih scored a season-high 15 points after going 4-for-8 from the field. She only had two made 3's entering the night. The freshman also had five steals, matching the most by a CSU player this year.
• Dozier scored 12 for CSU as the guard shot 50% (5-for-10) from the field.
• As a team, Columbus State shot 43.5% (27-for-62) from the field and were 8-for-20 (8-for-20) from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Lady Cougars were 18-for-30 (60%).
• Winters had 27 for Young Harris with Lindsey Caudell adding 23.
• YHC shot a blistering 66.7% (14-for-21) from the 3-point range. YHC was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.
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| Cougar Notes |
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• It was the first game for Columbus State in a month. CSU's last action came on Jan. 20 before entering the PBC's COVID-19 protocol.
• The seven assists by Rawls are the most by a Lady Cougar this season.
• The Lady Cougars tied a season-high with 17 assists.
• Columbus State collected a season-high 15 steals to help score 26 points off of YHC turnovers
• Boston is now second in the PBC in rebounds (11.0 rebs/g), third in blocks/g (2.6) and third in shooting (52.9%).
• The Cougars out-rebounded the Mountain Lions 32-29. CSU has won the battle on the glass in three of its four games this season.
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| Up Next |
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Columbus State will travel to Greenwood, S.C. on Monday, Feb. 22 to play No. 2 Lander University at 5:30 p.m.
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