DAHLONEGA, Ga. --
North Georgia's Syretha Marble scored a game-high 29 points
to lead the Lady Saints to an 82-73 Peach Belt Conference victory
over Augusta State Saturday afternoon in Memorial Hall.
The loss was the eighth straight for the Lady Jags (3-11, 1-6 PBC),
who were paced by junior forward Nicole Mealing's 22 points.
NGCSU, which snapped a nine-game losing streak of its own, improved
to 4-10 overall and 1-6 in the PBC.
Mealing grabbed 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the
year, while junior forward Porsha White booked her third
double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.
Whitney Randolph netted 18 for the Lady Saints, while Meredith
Montgomery chipped in 12 and Alyssa Stokes added 10. Marble also
notched nine rebounds and five steals.
NGCSU shot 50.9 percent from the field and held ASU to just 36.6
percent shooting. The Lady Jags won the rebounding edge 38-30 and
forced 27 Lady Saints' turnovers, registering a season-high
16 steals.
North Georgia led 30-27 at the half and scored the first 10 points
of the second half to take a 40-27 lead at the 16:52 mark. The Lady
Saints then went ahead by 14 after a Marble three-point play with
11:04 remaining.
ASU answered with a 13-5 run to get within six on a Mealing
3-pointer with 7:50 to go. But the Lady Saints immediately
countered with layups from Marble and Randolph to push their lead
back to 10 with five minutes to play.
The Lady Jags got layups from Mealing and White to close within
six, and Mealing connected on her third trey of the second half
with 46 seconds left to cut the ASU deficit to 72-68.
North Georgia responded with two Lindsey Kitchens free throws and
an Alyssa Stokes layup to push its lead back to 76-68 with :32
left. Eboni Davis drained a 3-pointer to get ASU within five with
23 seconds to play, but North Georgia iced the game with four
straight free throws.
The Lady Jags take on 18th-ranked USC Aiken on Monday, Jan. 19 at
5:30 p.m. in the USCA Convocation Center.