COLUMBUS – Columbus State University Women's Basketball welcomed Wingate (N.C.) to the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lady Cougars (5-2) defeated the Bulldogs (3-4) in a contested 66-56 victory in front of a home crowd in Columbus.
 
First Quarter
 
Wingate opened with a 10-5 lead in the first few minutes with Bre'lyn Snipes scoring all five points for the Lady Cougars early. A trey from Aaliyah Ferrell pulled CSU within one possession but a layup from the Bulldogs extended the cushion to four points with five to play. A three-pointer from Snipes moved the Lady Cougars into a 12-11 deficit but Wingate closed out the first period on an 8-2 run. The Bulldogs closed the period with a 20-13 advantage.
 
Second Quarter
 
The second quarter opened with some back-and-forth action which would eventually result in an 11-7 stretch of scoring from CSU. Columbus State capped the stretch with a trey from Ferrell and a layup from Simone Lett to pull within a three-point deficit. Wingate closed with a 10-7 stretch of scoring in the final four or so minutes to hold a 37-31 advantage at the break.
 
Third Quarter
 
Columbus State would jump out of the halftime break and pounce into control of the lead with a 15-0 run that covered nearly eight minutes of play. CSU moved into a 46-37 lead with just over two minutes to play. The Lady Cougars defense held Wingate to just four points in the quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 18-4 to lead 49-42 with the fourth quarter remaining.
 
Fourth Quarter
 
The Lady Cougars continued to control the lead in the fourth, moving to a 15-point edge with a 13-5 run capped by treys from Zuzanna Rudenko and Ferrell. Wingate tried to fight back into the contest, pulling the deficit down to eight points but the Lady Cougars held tough and ran the clock out to secure a 66-56 victory.
 
Inside the Numbers

• The Lady Cougars finished shooting for 32.5% (25-of-77) from the field, 27.9% (12-of-43) from three, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the foul line.
• Snipes led the way with 14 points followed by Ferrell's 13 and Letiya Reeves' 11.
• Reeves notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Olonna Rawls notched eight rebounds and tied for the team high in assists alongside Haelim Adle and three steals alongside Ferrell.
• Wingate narrowly won the rebounding battle, 45-42.
• CSU finished with five blocks as Jasmine Rai Stevens led with two.
• The Lady Cougar defense tallied 15 steals on 18 Wingate turnovers, scoring 12 points off turnovers.

Up Next

• Columbus State will shift focus to Peach Belt Conference foe Georgia College with a road contest in Milledgeville, Ga. on Dec. 7.