Augusta women’s basketball improves to 4-0 with win at Emmanuel
By Drew Wall | Sports writer
The Augusta women’s basketball team remains undefeated at 4-0 after a 73-68 win at Emmanuel on Nov. 22.
Augusta guard Autumn Phillips was lights out again with 22 points and shot 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line. Phillips also tallied four steals to go along with her outstanding shooting.
Guard Tomiyah Alford also was heavily involved in the scoring department for Augusta. Alford put up 20 points and went an impressive 10 for 12 from the free throw line. Alford also had nine rebounds and four steals.
"Autumn did a good job of making shots from the perimeter,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “Defensively, she had a good number of deflections and steals. Tomiyah did a good job of being aggressive and getting to the free throw line, recognizing her advantages offensively. She was also able to make plays defensively, doing a good job playing in the passing lanes."
Augusta, which made 7 of 13 from behind the arc, had control for a majority of the game and had a 57-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
However, Emmanuel did not go away and would end up outscoring Augusta 26-16 in the fourth quarter.
Guard Sydney Watt led Emmanuel in scoring with 19 points. Nine of her 19 points came in the fourth quarter.
Emmanuel cut the lead to three points in the final minute of the game. However, clutch free throws made by Phillips and junior guard Mone Florence in the final seconds iced the game for the Jaguars.
"I believe we did a solid job of executing the game plan, but we still have work to do,” Stewart said. “The details are important, so we need to continue to get better in that area.”
Augusta also made 18 of 22 from the foul line, which was critical to the victory. The Lions were only 10 of 17 from the line.
Emmanuel fell to 3-3 after the loss to Augusta and is currently on a three-game losing skid. The Lions will go on the road on Wednesday, Nov. 29, to face Georgia College.
Augusta, now at 4-0, will finally get to play at home on Nov. 29 and will face a very tough 5-1 Anderson University team.
"Our game versus Anderson will be a battle,” said Stewart. “We are excited to have the opportunity to compete on our home floor. Our focus is to defend, rebound and execute offensively. We are at our best when we allow our defense to create our offense.
"Anderson does a good job of capitalizing on opponents' mistakes. They play an up-tempo game and have players that can shoot it well from the perimeter," Stewart added.
Contact Drew Wall at dwall@augusta.edu.
Tomiyah Alford had 20 points, including 10 of 12 from the line, as the Jaguars picked up a road win at Emmanuel to improve to 4-0. At the top of the page, Autumn Phillips had a game-high 22 for AU, which will host Anderson in its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 5:30 p.m. (Bell Ringer file photos)
