Augusta University starts year at Conference Carolinas / Peach Belt Challenge

CENTRAL, S.C. – The Augusta University women's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season at the Conference Carolinas/ Peach Belt Challenge on Friday night at Southern Wesleyan University and the Jaguars won 77-59 highlighted by senior Kariel Hutt's 18 points and 19 rebounds.

Kariel Hutt recorded her seventh double-double in a row after she ended the 2014-15 with one in the last six games. She also swatted away three shots on the night.

Breonna O'Conner added 14 points in her time in a Jaguar uniform, while Tavia Sykes tallied 11. Augusta sophomore Cynara Pitt chipped in 10 in the win and junior Kayla Lovett contributed six points and eight boards. The Jags had 14 steals to SWU's nine and blocked three more shots than the Warriors.

The Jags buried 43.9 percent of their shots from the floor. The squad also went to the charity stripe 39 times, converting 22 attempts. Augusta recorded an advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the home team 51-42 and outscoring the Warriors 30-14 in the paint.

The Jags owned a tight first quarter as the Jags went into the first break on top 17-16. To start the game, O'Conner got to the free-throw line first and sunk one-of-two before Hutt nailed back-to-back layups to give the Jags the initial lead.

At halftime, the Jags kept the slight advantage by a basket to go up 33-31 heading into the locker rooms. The game was tied four times and the lead only changed six times in the contest as Augusta grabbed an early-season non-conference victory with ease.

The visitors broke open the game in the third frame, outscoring SWU by a 19-6 margin. The Jags outpaced the home team by three in the final quarter. Augusta connected on 14-of-28 shots over the final 20 minutes of action while holding SWU to a mere four-of-27 from the floor during the timespan (14.8 percent).

The two-day, non-conference tournament wraps up tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 14 when the Jags play Emmanuel at 3:00 p.m. in the Tysinger Gymnasium.

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