DAHLONEGA, Ga. - After being down 26 points in the third quarter, the fourth-seeded Columbus State University women's basketball team made a furious comeback attempt before eventually falling 89-78 to 10th-ranked and top-seeded North Georgia in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The Lady Cougars (17-13) will now wait to find out their fate for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. CSU was ranked eighth in the latest Southeast Region rankings released on Wednesday with the top-eight teams advancing into the tournament. The selection show will be held on Sunday at 10 p.m.

"We are obviously disappointed," commented head coach Matt Houser, "but this team didn't quit and gave one of the best teams in the nation and run at the end. We are hoping this isn't the end of the road for us because we would love to get back on the court to compete against these guys again." 

It was an inauspicious start for Columbus State as North Georgia raced out to a 21-9 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. UNG scored the first 10 points of the game with CSU's first points not coming until the 5:23 mark when Amber Abusbeih connected on a 3-pointer. The Lady Cougars cut the lead to 10-7 but UNG closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to take the double-digit lead.

North Georgia (24-3) continued to build its lead over the second, taking a 21-point lead (41-20) with 2:01 showing on the clock following a three from Josie Earnhardt. The 3-pointer helped spark a 8-2 stretch for the hosts as UNG went into the break up 47-22.

Early in the third, Abbie Franklin hit a 3-pointer to push the margin to 52-26 before the tides changed. The two sides exchanged buckets before Columbus State showed signs of life. Olonna Rawls kicked started a 12-4 Lady Cougar run that saw the UNG lead shrink to 17 (60-43) with 3:34 play in the third. Abusbeih scored seven of the 12 as CSU was 3-for-6 from deep over the four minutes. 

After a UNG bucket, the Lady Cougars were off to the races again led by Abusbeih. CSU made it a 65-56 game at the end of the third after scoring 13 of the final 15 points of the period, including eight more from the guard. Columbus State outscored North Georgia 34-17 over the 10 minutes with Abusbeih pouring in 18.

The comeback continued into the fourth. CSU pulled within eight on multiple occasions before making one final push. UNG lead 70-60 with 6:33 to play before a Rawls layup and a 3-pointer from Jurnee Smith made it just a five-point game with 5:49 to go. 

However, back-to-back buckets from the Nighthawks helped UNG escape with the win as the Lady Cougars would never get within five the rest of the way. 

Abusbeih finished the night with a career-high 30 points after knocking in six 3-pointers. The second-year freshman had six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Imani Arnold (13), Rawls (10) and Smith (10) were all in double-figures. Arnold pulled in a team-high seven rebounds to go with three steals. 

Columbus State shot 39.1% (27-for-69) overall and were 10-for-28 (35.7%) from 3-point range. CSU was 2-for-8 from deep over the first 20 minutes of play. 

Julianne Sutton posted a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double to pace North Georgia. Earnhardt was 4-for-6 from beyond the line to add 15 points.

Overall, UNG shot 50.9% (28-for-55) and were 9-for-20 (45.0%) on 3-point attempts.