Box Score COLUMBUS, Ga. – No. 1 West seed Columbus State (24-4) avenged a regular-season loss over the No. 2 East seed Augusta Jaguars (22-8) in the Peach Belt Conference Semifinals with a 78-65 battle in the Lumpkin Center on Saturday night.
The PBC Tournament is hosted at the highest remaining seed in the west division after the quarterfinal matchups were decided and the Columbus State women earned rights to host the two-day event.
Earning a No. 7 spot in the final NCAA Southeast Region ranks, Augusta (22-7) awaits conference play in the region to decide their postseason fate. The Jaguars 21 regular-season wins match the best in school history.
During the weekend Augusta Head Coach Nate Teymer was named the PBC Co-Coach of the Year, while senior Kariel Hutt and junior Breonna O'Conner earned All-Conference accolades.
Hutt recorded her 15th double-double of the season and her 29th of her two-year Jaguar career with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while O'Conner and sophomore Joshlyn Belcher each had 13 points to pace Augusta offensively.
Senior Camille Gee scored nine with three assists and a rebound and sophomore Cynara notched six points and six boards off the bench.
CSU was led by Michelle Mitchell's 24 points and Britteny Tatum's 20. Mitchell was named the PBC Player of the Year at the awards banquet.
The Jags struggled from the floor with a 37.7 field-goal percentage to CSUs 46.7 percent. The Cougars capitalized at the charity stripe and hit 20-26 shots (76.9 percent) and the Jags made 14-24 (58.3 percent) from the free-throw line.
Each team scored 16 points off turnovers, but CSU won the paint by outscoring Augusta 34-26 and outrebounding them 44-34.
The Jags trailed 38-30 at halftime - led by eight points from Hutt, O'Conner, and Belcher. Belcher was 2-2 on three-point attempts in the opening half. The Cougars outscored Augusta 21-15 in the first period and the Jags made it closer in the second with a 17-15 differential.
Shooting above 50 percent for the majority of the second half, CSU led 61-49 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. With just under eight minutes to go, the Jags trailed by 10 until the 4:51 mark when Hutt drained one free throw.
Gee answered with a jumper and Hutt made a layup for a 64-59 game, but Michelle Mitchell's jumper with 3:10 remaining pushed CSU too far ahead with the clock dwindling.
The PBC Championship game is on Sunday, March 6 for a 4:00 p.m. women's tipoff. The men's finale tips at 1:30 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.
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