Box Score AUGUSTA, Ga. – The East No. 2 Augusta Jaguars (22-7) met the West No. 3 seed North Georgia Nighthawks (17-12) in the Peach Belt Conference Quarterfinals and prevailed 75-59 on Sunday afternoon in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The win is the first in the PBC tournament for the Jags since Feb. 28, 2007 when they beat Francis Marion.
Augusta earned rights to host the opening round of the PBC Tournament with a 21-7 overall finish and 14-5 mark in the league for the regular season. Augusta will meet No. 1 West seed Columbus State in the PBC Semifinals in Columbus, Ga., on March 5 in Columbus, Ga.
Senior Kariel Hutt carded her 14th double-double this season and the 28th across her two-year career in Augusta with 13 points and 13 rebounds against UNG. Junior Breonna O'Conner scored 15 points, sophomore Cynara Pitt poured in 13 with six rebounds, and junior Kayla Lovett and senior Camille Gee each had 11 points.
Augusta shot an even 50 percent from field-goal range and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line. The Jaguar defense held the Nighthawks to a 32.3 field-goal percentage and 15.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Molly Rainwater's three pointer for UNG opened scoring on the day, but Augusta's O'Conner hit three-straight shots, one of a steal to take an 11-3 lead. Another O'Conner steal led to her second fast-break layup and UNG called a timeout down 15-5. The Jags led 20-8 after the first quarter and went into the half up 36-24.
Augusta only trailed after the opening UNG basket of the game. Once the lead was taken they never let go in the game.
Two free throws from Kelsey Hutching brought the Nighthawks into a 38-30 game with 5:40 left in the third quarter and Rainwater hit her second trey for a 38-33 score.
Augusta won the third quarter barely and outscored UNG 14-13, before taking the fourth 25-22 to seal the win at home.
Jags junior Breonna O'Conner ended the regular season ranked fifth in the PBC in scoring (15.2 ppg) and senior Kariel Hutt finished fifth with 14.3 points per game. Hutt ranked second in total rebounds (266), third in rebounds per game with 9.5, and third with 57 blocks in the regular season. O'Conner's 67 regular-season steals earned her third place in the league, while sophomore Joshlyn Belcher led the whole PBC with 68 three pointers, and junior Kayla Lovett led all players with 938 minutes play. Lovett ended her first year in the PBC with the fourth-most assists (109).
The final round of games will be played March 5-6 at the highest remaining west division women's seed – Columbus State. The two women's semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 5 at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. The tournament is presented by Jani-King.
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