Lady Cougars win regional; on to NCAA Div. II quarterfinals
“O-H-I-O; Ohio!”
That was the chant from the Columbus State University cheerleaders in a raucous Lumpkin Center on Monday night as the Lady Cougars basketball team punched their ticket from Columbus, Ga. to Columbus, Ohio, defeating Lincoln Memorial 86-75 before an energized crowd of over 1,700.
Columbus State will play Virginia Union at noon Tuesday, Mar. 21, in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to the semifinals the following day. The championship game will be played next Saturday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.
With a few Lady Cougars battling the flu, the usual suspects of junior Alexis Carter and senior Ashley Asouzu led CSU in the scoring department with 25 and 18 points, respectively.
Carter scored 10 of her game-high 25 in the fourth quarter. She was also 4 of 9 from the three-point line and also finished with 14 rebounds.
“The score was too close. We had to pull away,” Carter said of her fourth quarter outburst offensively.
“I challenged her,” said Lady Cougar head coach Anita Howard. “She’s a finesse player, but she has a good inside out game as well. I’m not one of those coaches who limits her just to the paint. It shows the different looks we can give. I was happy we were able to do that against a strong Lincoln Memorial defense.”
Senior guard Keyrra Gillespie joined them in double digits with 11 points and also added nine assists, one shy of a double-double. Many of her assists were of the flashy variety, dishing no-look passes to teammates for open shots as the Lady Cougars pulled away in the second half.
“She’s our general of the team,” Howard said of Gillespie. “She’s one of the old heads. She doesn’t care about her stats, but I knew once they packed it in that she was going to have to step it up offensively. She knows this team like the back of her hand, who likes what, who to hit in transition. She did that tonight. It shows the leadership that she has.”
The final frame was a period that saw CSU take a lead as big as 17 before Howard emptied her bench with 2:03 remaining in the game. The mass substitution allowed Carter, Asouzu, Gillespie, and senior Britteny Tatum to receive a much-deserved round of applause from the Lady Cougar faithful.
“They deserved it,” Howard said. “From August 18th, our first team meeting, they deserved to hear that clap and roar from the fans. They worked hard. For them to get that applause, we’ve been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes. They’ve been through a whole lot, battling injuries and sickness.
“I loved the crowd. Tonight was probably our biggest crowd. We wanted to pack ‘the Lump.’ The community came out, the students came out, and it was a great cause. We had a great product on the court tonight.”
Lincoln Memorial held an 8-5 lead midway through the first quarter before a Tatiana Wayne three-pointer tied the game. The Lady Cougars never trailed after that point.
Senior Gabby Williams, who was visibly fighting the flu during Monday’s game, started the game but finished with just two points in nine minutes of play. Williams was named to the Southeast Regional All-Tournament Team, however, as she scored 19 in the team’s Friday night win over Anderson and added 15 on Saturday night against Lander.
“We were in the hospital with Gabby last night and she still wanted to start and wanted to dress, so we did that for her because she was a senior,” Howard said. “Just for her to do that for her team, and not be selfish about it and told us when she needed to come out, was big.”
Williams was also joined by Asouzu and Carter on the All-Tournament Team.
For Asouzu, who has been a four-year member of the Lady Cougars, it’s a different feeling on the team.
“I would have to say it’s really the intensity and effort from every single player,” Asouzu said of the difference this year. “No one wants to go home.”
“We always wanted to compete for a national championship,” Howard said. “These games were pit stops. I’m just blessed and super proud to be here at Columbus State with this group. It’s just the will. They want to win and they’ll do whatever they need to do to win. I’m pleased with our product so far going to the Elite Eight.”
After the weight of the words she just said hit her, Howard turned and looked at Asouzu and Carter, who flanked her at the postgame interview table.
“We’re going to the Elite Eight, ladies!” Howard exclaimed.
This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Lady Cougars win regional; on to NCAA Div. II quarterfinals."