AIKEN, S.C. - The Columbus State Lady Cougars (16-6, 10-3 PBC) traveled up South Carolina to face the Pacers of USC Aiken (5-17, 2-10 PBC). After a nail-biting game, the Lady Cougars will travel back home satisfied with a PBC victory winning 69-64.
First Quarter
USC Aiken won the ball at tip-off and moved quick to try and get an early lead on CSU. Within the minute, the Pacers scored first after a few missed attempts. Letiya Reeves got the Lady Cougars on the board with a jump shot in the 7:39 mark. After a few substitutions, Reeves stayed on for the Cougars and made a clean three pointers to get ahead of USCA 5-3.
The Pacers looked to copy Reeves' three pointer but were unsuccessful. Olonna Rawls was able to take the ball away and charge down the court, but was fouled and given two free throws, which she put away easily. Jasmine Rai Stevens came into the game ready to make an impact as she scored a layup to put the Lady Cougars up 11-5. Both teams had their share of missed points, but ultimately, USCA was able to come from behind and take their first quarter ahead 13-15.
Second Quarter
Both teams made a few changes to their lineup to start the second quarter. The Pacers scored first and increased their lead after a free throw. USC Aiken continued to score up until 6:47 when Rawls made her own free throw. Halfway through the quarter and CSU is down 14-24. Samara Saunders was quick to make a defensive rebound off USCA and pass up to Zuzanna Rudenko was up to add two points from the paint. With two minutes left and behind by seven, USCA missed a layup, and Rawls was there to take it away. The ball got into the hands of Reeves and scored from three to make the score 22-26.
Fresh legs enter the game for CSU to help get the Lady Cougars back on top. There was 1:21 left in the half when Rawls scored from three which had CSU down by five. Reeves made another defensive rebound and took the ball all the way up the court to score in the paint. Reeves was looking for more and the only way to stop her was to foul, but even then, she made her free throw. Down only by two with less than a minute on the clock, Haelim Adle missed her layup as Simone Lett was coming behind for the rebound when she was fouled. Going 2-2 on her free throws, she got the two teams tied at 30 was 28 seconds left. Both teams grabbed two more points respectively, going into halftime level 32-32.
Third Quater
Reeves got the third quarter going with a jump shot in the paint to finally get the Lady Cougars ahead of USCA. About a minute later, the Pacers made the same shot to tie the game once again. The next two minutes were quiet as both teams were able to convert their attempts into points. Aiken thought they had the lead until Rudenko tied the game and later Rawls scored from three to make the score 39-36 CSU with the lead.
With 3:05 left in the game, the Pacers took back the lead after a three pointer. A series of substitutes and missed chances took place up until 1:03 when Reeves made her three pointer to get the Lady Cougars back on top by one. Unfortunately, USCA converted two scoring opportunities from the paint and the Pacers took the third quarter 42-45.
Fourth Quarter
Looking for the comeback, CSU wasted no time getting points as Lett shoots from in the paint and made it. As Aiken gets the ball back, Rawls finds a pocket to steal the ball and goes to score a layup to get CSU up by one. The Lady Cougars continue to score and gets ahead by eight points four minutes into the last quarter. The Pacers look to gain momentum as they score from a jump shot, but Reeves quickly shut down their hopes with a clean three pointer to make the score 58-51.
Aiken was still looking to win this game but gave up too many fouls in the process. Reeves and Adle converted their free throws to add nine points to their lead. With the game ending, USCA tested their luck with one more three pointer attempt but was unsuccessful. The Lady Cougars rejoiced as they were able to add another win to their record.
In the Numbers
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