Ice-cold Lady Cougars bow out in second round
GAFFNEY, S.C. The Columbus State women’s basketball team dropped out of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in the second round for the second straight year Saturday.
The Lady Cougars went ice cold in the second half and lost 67-58 to fellow Peach Belt Conference foe Francis Marion. Last years second-round loss came in the same building, the Timkin Center on the Limestone University campus.
“We didn’t play our best game tonight, obviously,” CSU coach Jonathan Norton said. “You can’t expect to win when you score just 25 points in the second half and make one 3-pointer in the entire game.”
CSU (25-6) started the second half on a 6-2 run to take a nine-point lead, 41-32, with 8:14 left in the third quarter.
But the Lady Cougars scored just 17 points over the final 18:14, shooting just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from the field.
“We turned the ball over too many times and just could never get into a rhythm offensively,” Norton said. “Give Francis Marion all the credit for a good game plan and executing it.”
This was CSU’s third straight trip to the NCAA tournament under coach Jonathan Norton, a first for the program. But Norton is still looking for his first regional championship. The Lady Cougars bowed out in the first round in 2014 and in the second round last season. CSU has won two regional titles in 2000 and 2001. Both seasons, the Lady Cougars advanced to the national semifinals before bowing out.
It was the Lady Cougars’ ninth trip to the NCAA.
“One loss doesn’t define your season and my heart goes out to every single one of my girls,” Norton said. “They played their hearts out each game for each other and accomplished great things this year, but in the end we came up just short of our goals.”
Francis Marion, the No. 7 seed, knocked off the No. 2 seed Lander on Friday in the first round. CSU was the No. 3 seed.
CSU beat Francis Marion 79-75 earlier this season at Francis Marion.
Francis Marion will play either Augusta or Anderson in the regional final on Monday night. A berth in the Elite 8 will be on the line.
NCAA SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
at Gaffney, S.C.
Friday’s Games
Columbus State 79, Wingate 72
Francis Marion 62, Lander 61
Augusta 79, Limestone 70
Anderson 80, Clayton State 56
Saturday’s Games
Francis Marion 67, Columbus State 58
Augusta vs. Anderson, (n)
Monday’s Game
Saturday’s winners, 7 p.m.
Francis Marion 67, Columbus State 58
FRANCIS MARION UNIV. (23-8)
Alaysia Watts 7-20 3-4 18; Briana Burgins 4-6 8-8 16; TeTe Flowers 3-10 4-7 10; Camille Dash 1-7 4-5 7; Khayani Chandler 3-11 0-0 7; Victoria Dye 2-5 0-0 5; Shaunice Fulmore 2-4 0-0 4; Kristin Tines 0-1 0-0 0; Courtney Wood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-64 19-24 67.
COLUMBUS STATE (25-6)
Michelle Mitchell 6-11 4-4 16; Ashley Johnson 3-6 6-8 12; Ashley Asouzu 5-11 1-1 11; Gabby Williams 4-10 2-2 10; Britteny Tatum 1-10 4-4 7; Tatiana Wayne 0-1 2-2 2; Alexys Woods 0-1 0-0 0; Brea Walker 0-0 0-0 0; Erin Morrow 0-3 0-0 0; Eryn Cochran 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 19-21 58.
FM | 19 | 11 | 20 | 17 — 67 |
CSU | 20 | 15 | 14 | 9 — 58 |
3-point goals--Francis Marion Univ. 4-15 (Khayani Chandler 1-5; Camille Dash 1-3; Alaysia Watts 1-4; Victoria Dye 1-2; TeTe Flowers 0-1), Columbus State 1-8 (Britteny Tatum 1-5; Gabby Williams 0-1; Erin Morrow 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion Univ.-None, Columbus State-Ashley Johnson; Michelle Mitchell. Rebounds--Francis Marion Univ. 42 (Briana Burgins 13), Columbus State 40 (Michelle Mitchell 13). Assists--Francis Marion Univ. 8 (Shaunice Fulmore 2), Columbus State 9 (Britteny Tatum 2; Brea Walker 2; Gabby Williams 2; Ashley Asouzu 2). Total fouls--Francis Marion Univ. 14, Columbus State 20. Technical fouls--Francis Marion Univ.-None, Columbus State-None. A-210
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Ice-cold Lady Cougars bow out in second round."