Mitchell, Johnson lead Columbus State women to sixth straight win
FLORENCE, S.C. -- Michelle Mitchell scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half as No. 15 Columbus State rallied to down Francis Marion 79-75 on Saturday afternoon at the Smith University Center.
Mitchell, the Peach Belt Conference's leading scorer, managed just four points over the first two quarters, and the Lady Cougars trailed 35-29 at the intermission.
But with Mitchell and Ashley Johnson -- who scored 15 of her career-high 17 in the last half -- leading the way, CSU scored 50 points in the final two quarters.
"I'm really proud of our girls' toughness and resiliency in the second half, continuing to battle back," CSU coach Jonathan Norton said. "We did a better job in the second half on the glass and limiting our turnovers and that made a huge difference."
Poor shooting in the first half left CSU in a six-point deficit. The Lady Cougars (9-1, 3-0) made just 35.5 percent of their shots (11-of-31) and just 14.3 percent from 3-point range (1-of-7).
Mitchell scored nine of CSU's first 15 points in the third quarter as CSU climbed to within two, 46-44. Ashley Asouzu tied the game with four minutes left in the quarter.
Francis Marion (10-2, 1-2) took a 53-52 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Lady Patriots were called for a substitution violation to start the fourth quarter as a player failed to check into the game properly.
Mitchell hit the two free throws resulting from the technical, giving CSU its first lead since the first quarter.
Gabby Williams scored five straight points as CSU increased its lead to seven, 60-53.
Mitchell hit her only 3-pointer of the game to give CSU its largest lead at 68-58. Francis Marion went on a 9-2 run to close to within 70-67 with 2:50 to play. Johnson and Britteny Tatum combined to go 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to help secure the win.
Mitchell earned her third consecutive double-double and fourth in five games as she also grabbed 12 rebounds. Asouzu finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Williams had 11 points and seven assists. Tatum finished with 10 points.
CSU, which has won six straight, will play at Armstrong State at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
COLUMBUS STATE UNIV. (9-1, 3-0 PBC)
Michelle Mitchell 10-24 6-8 27; Ashley Johnson 7-10 3-3 17; Ashley Asouzu 6-9 0-0 12; Gabby Williams 3-10 4-5 11; Britteny Tatum 1-4 7-8 10; Erin Morrow 1-3 0-0 2; Eryn Cochran 0-1 0-0 0; Brea Walker 0-3 0-0 0; Alexys Woods 0-0 0-0 0; Tatiana Wayne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 20-24 79.
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (10-2 , 1-2 PBC)
TeTe Flowers 6-7 3-4 16; Alaysia Watts 5-12 5-5 16; Briana Burgins 6-7 1-3 13; Shaunice Fulmore 5-12 2-2 12; Victoria Dye 2-7 0-0 6; Camille Dash 1-3 3-6 5; Khayani Chandler 2-10 0-0 5; Kristin Tines 1-4 0-0 2; Courtney Wood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 14-20 75.Columbus State 10 19 23 27--79
Francis Marion 13 22 18 22--753-point goals--Columbus State Univ. 3-10 (Gabby Williams 1-3; Britteny Tatum 1-2; Michelle Mitchell 1-1; Erin Morrow 0-1; Brea Walker 0-3), Francis Marion Univ. 5-15 (Victoria Dye 2-4; Khayani Chandler 1-6; Alaysia Watts 1-3; TeTe Flowers 1-1; Shaunice Fulmore 0-1). Fouled out--Columbus State Univ.-None, Francis Marion Univ.-None. Rebounds--Columbus State Univ. 40 (Michelle Mitchell 12), Francis Marion Univ. 33 (Shaunice Fulmore 6; Camille Dash 6). Assists--Columbus State Univ. 18 (Gabby Williams 7), Francis Marion Univ. 13 (TeTe Flowers 7). Total fouls--Columbus State Univ. 17, Francis Marion Univ. 21. Technical fouls--Columbus State Univ.-None, Francis Marion Univ.-Camille Dash. A-163.
This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 8:19 PM with the headline "Mitchell, Johnson lead Columbus State women to sixth straight win ."