COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State opened up a double-digit, second-half lead Thursday night and picked up a 61-54 Peach Belt Conference victory over Augusta State in Lumpkin Center.

The contest marked the middle game of three straight road contests for the Lady Jaguars, who dropped to 16-5 on the season and 9-5 in the conference.

The victory lifted the Cougars to 14-9 overall and moved CSU into a tie for second place in the PBC West Division standings with Montevallo at 10-6 in the league.

The Lady Jaguars, who led by as many as nine points in the first half, were paced senior Taylor Ayers' 17 points off the bench. Junior guard Jemimah Ashby, ASU's leading scorer at 13.8 ppg., saw her first action since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in early January. She scored 10 points in 11 minutes in her first appearance since Jan. 2. Becky Newhouse grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Brittany White logged seven points, six assists and five steals.

Taren White matched Ayers with 17 points for the Cougars. Tae Smith and Chatil Bradford chipped in 10 points each and Asha Alexander snagged eight boards.

ASU connected on five of its first eight shot attempts and led 11-2 at the 15:05 mark of the first half. The Cougars immediately clawed back, scoring 12 straight points to take a 14-11 lead on a pair of White free throws with 8:47 to play. The lead changed hands eight more times over the remainder of the half before CSU closed with a 7-0 spurt for a 35-28 halftime advantage.

Columbus pushed its lead to as much as 16 just 5:21 into the second half. The Lady Jags closed to within six on two occasions -- the last on a Eryka Menzies' jumper with 4:19 remaining – before CSU countered with five straight to extend its advantage back to double digits.

The Lady Jags wrap up their three-game road swing at Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, Feb. 16. Tipoff from the Storm Dome in Americus, Ga., is slated for 1:30 p.m.