Lady Cougars race past USC Aiken

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University women’s basketball team closed out 2017 with a 78-59 victory over USC Aiken on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference contest was played in the Lumpkin Center.

Machala Raymonville led the Lady Cougars with 17 points on the afternoon. Tatiana Wayne and Tatum Jarvis each finished with 16. In her first collegiate start, Eboni Williams ended with eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

“I was glad we could knock those holiday cobwebs off with a win at home,” head coach Anita Howard said. “We had a well-balanced attack from the guard position and we usually play well when our guards are scoring.”

Columbus State (5-3, 3-1 PBC) jumped in front quickly, scoring the opening six points to set the tone for the day. Leading 9-6, the Lady Cougars scored seven straight to lead by double figures for the first time.

USC Aiken (3-7, 0-4) crawled back to within seven, but CSU outscored the Pacers 7-1 as Wayne punctuated a strong first quarter with the Lady Cougars on top 23-10. The margin kept growing in the second quarter as a three-point play from Wayne pushed the lead out to 20 just before half.

The Pacers battled back after halftime and trailed 50-39 at the midpoint of the third quarter, but CSU had the final answer it would need to put USCA away for good. The Lady Cougars cruised the rest of the way and never saw their lead shrink less than 15 in the final quarter.

CSU shot 39 percent (30-for-77) for the game and 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from the 3-point line. The Lady Cougars forced 24 turnovers and pulled down 49 rebounds, including 21 on the offensive end.

Columbus State will kick off 2018 at home against North Georgia on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

This story was originally published December 30, 2017 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Lady Cougars race past USC Aiken."