Michelle Mitchell leads Columbus State past North Georgia
The Columbus State women's basketball team will head into the regular-season finale next week with a chance to win a second straight Peach Belt Conference championship.
The 24th-ranked Lady Cougars (21-4, 15-3) won their eighth straight game Saturday, a come-from-behind 81-69 victory over North Georgia at the Lumpkin Center. It was CSU's 30th straight home win, a school and conference record.
Clayton State and Lander also won Saturday, so the Lady Cougars remain in a two-way tie with Clayton State for the Western Division title and in a three-way tie with Clayton State and Lander for the league crown.
CSU plays at Clayton State on Wednesday night, so there will be an outright division winner. Lander plays Georgia College on Wednesday. The PBC does not break ties to decide the regular-season champion, so CSU's win over Lander would not be used.
CSU has already wrapped up a berth in the PBC tournament, which it has won the past two seasons. CSU will host the No. 4 team from the Eastern Conference on Feb. 28 as the quarterfinals
will be played at the top two seeds in each division.
The winner of the Western Division will be the host for the semifinals and finals of not only the women's tournament but the men's tournament as well.
CSU trailed North Georgia by as many as eight points in the first half but managed to get back within two, 36-34, at intermission.
The Lady Cougars used a big third quarter to pull away, outscoring the Nighthawks 27-14 for a 61-50 lead.
Senior Michelle Mitchell led CSU with a season-high 29 points. She also had eight rebounds.
Britteny Tatum added 17 points. Gabby Williams had 10.
Jordan Lovesay scored 21 to lead North Georgia (17-10, 9-9). Kelsey Hutchins added 20.
"We had to make some adjustments after North Georgia got off to a hot start," CSU coach Jonathan Norton said. "We knew they were eventually going to cool off and I thought our pressure really bothered them.
"We now have a chance to play for a conference championship on Wednesday night. We know it's going to be a tough game and environment, but you can't ask for much more."
NORTH GEORGIA (17-10, 9-9 PBC)
Jordan Livesay 6-9 5-7 21; Kelsey Hutchins 9-16 2-4 20; Molly Rainwater 4-4 0-0 12; Cierra Jackson 3-11 2-4 8; Lauren Pounds 1-3 5-6 8; Julie McKie 0-2 0-0 0; Kaylee Akin 0-1 0-0 0; Lochlain Corliss 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 14-21 69.
COLUMBUS STATE (21-4, 15-3 PBC)
Michelle Mitchell 10-22 9-9 29; Britteny Tatum 7-16 2-4 17; Gabby Williams 4-7 2-6 10; Ashley Johnson 2-8 4-6 8; Ashley Asouzu 3-7 1-2 7; Erin Morrow 2-5 0-0 6; Eryn Cochran 1-3 2-2 4; Alexys Woods 0-1 0-0 0; Brea Walker 0-1 0-0 0; Kristian Carter 0-1 0-0 0; Tatiana Wayne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-71 20-29 81.
North Georgia 22 14 14 19--69
Columbus State 19 15 27 20--81
3-point goals--North Georgia 9-13 (Molly Rainwater 4-4; Jordan Livesay 4-4; Lauren Pounds 1-2; Kaylee Akin 0-1; Cierra Jackson 0-1; Kelsey Hutchins 0-1), Columbus State 3-12 (Erin Morrow 2-5; Britteny Tatum 1-4; Eryn Cochran 0-2; Brea Walker 0-1). Fouled out--North Georgia-None, Columbus State-Ashley Asouzu. Rebounds--North Georgia 32 (Kelsey Hutchins 5; Jordan Livesay 5; Lauren Pounds 5), Columbus State 40 (Ashley Asouzu 9). Assists--North Georgia 16 (Lauren Pounds 5), Columbus State 7 (Michelle Mitchell 4). Total fouls--North Georgia 22, Columbus State 25. Technical fouls--North Georgia-None, Columbus State-None. A-472.
This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Michelle Mitchell leads Columbus State past North Georgia ."