Thursday, February 16, 2006

LADY SAINTS CAPTURE SHARE OF PBC TITLE
North Georgia Pulls Away Late 70-54 Over CSU

Columbus, GA - North Georgia took advantage of frigid shooting by Columbus State in the second half Wednesday night to pull away for a 70-54 Peach Belt Conference win.

The victory moves the Lady Saints to 21-3 overall and 17-0 in PBC play and clinches at least a share of the regular-season PBC title.

North Georgia has now won 14 games in a row and tied the PBC record for most conference wins in a season. The Lady Saints will look to write their name in the history books this weekend as they go for win number 18 and sole possession on their fifth consecutive conference championship.

The two teams battled each other toe-to-toe in the first half. The Lady Saints used a 9-0 run over a three-minutes span to build a 17-8 lead with 12:55 to play in the period. Lara Seamon's layup capped the run which included five points by Syretha Marble. CSU (15-12, 8-9) would answer with a 8-0 run to cut the margin to a single point at 17-16. A Tabasha Taylor jumper off an offensive rebound capped the run for the Lady Cougars with 9:23 to play. CSU would tie the score just over four minutes later as Erin Holder drilled a three-pointer to make it 21-all with 5:17 left.

After North Georgia re-took the lead and pushed the margin back to four points, CSU again went on a charge, tying the score at 29 on an Erica Jones layup with 2:39 left. CSU took the lead a half-minute later as Abena Bosia canned a three-pointer to make it 30-29. North Georgia got a Lindsay Taylor free throw and a Lindsey Kitchens three-pointer with 34 seconds left to take a 38-34 lead. CSU's Erin Gibbs completed a three-point play with 14 seconds left to make the halftime margin 38-37.

North Georgia was not able to pull away in the first 10 minutes of the second half, never leading by more than six points. Finally, the Lady Saints took advantage of CSU missed shots and miscues to push the margin to double digits. A 7-2 spurt gave North Georgia a 58-47 lead with 6:24 to play after a Jenica Johnson layup. CSU got the margin back to six points with five unanswered points, but could get no closer. The Lady Saints out-scored CSU 12-2 over the last 4:45 of the game to pull away for the 16-point win.

Katie Williamson's 22 points led the Lady Saints on the evening as the senior went 7-11 from the floor. Marble added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Seamon and Johnson added 10 each. Jeanine Dorminey added nine rebounds to go with eight points and seven blocked shots. CSU held the Lady Saints to just 34 percent shooting in the second half.

CSU got 15 points from Erica Jones to lead an offense which managed to shoot just 21 percent in the second half. Erin Gibbs added 12 points and Cherwonna Walker 11. Walker and Abena Bosia each grabbed 10 rebounds. CSU committed 11 second-half turnovers to finish with 17 in the game.

CSU hits the road for two straight contests beginning Saturday at 2 PM in Florence, SC, against Francis Marion. North Georgia will try to keep its unblemished record in tact as they travel to GC & SU for a 7:30 PM contest.

Box Score

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