Augusta women’s basketball secures No. 3 seed in PBC tournament with dominant win

Augusta women’s basketball secures No. 3 seed in PBC tournament with dominant win

By Jaxon Garner | Editor-in-Chief

The Augusta University women’s basketball team secured the No. 3 seed in the Peach Belt Conference Championship with a 74-55 win over Georgia College on Feb. 25.

“To have home court advantage speaks to our hard work throughout the season and we earned it, said AU coach Celeste Stewart. “I’m glad we went back to this format because it’s hard to win so it gives teams at the top of the league to be rewarded.”

Following a tough 61-54 loss to No. 8 North Georgia, the Jaguars (11-6 PBC, 19-8) responded with a dominant road performance against the Bobcats, never trailing and only tied once at 2-2 in the opening minutes.

“Survive and Advance,” said Stewart. “The last two weeks I’ve talked to my team about it being tournament time.”

Augusta will open the PBC tournament at home on March 5. Their opponent is yet to be determined, as multiple teams remain in contention for the No. 6 seed. Lander, Clayton State, Georgia Southwestern and Flagler are all in contention for the No. 6 seed. The Jaguars are a combined 5-3 against those teams.

“We get to stay home and don’t have to travel,” said Stewart. “We’ve had a long couple of weeks so it’s definitely good for us. As far as matchups…we need to be ready to compete no matter who we are matched up with. 

In the 19-point win over Georgia College, Augusta had four players score in double figures, including Quinasia Abercrombie, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The freshman from Greenville, South Carolina, notched her sixth double-double of the season.

“She continues to work on her game and wants to be better and has grown over the season,” said Stewart on the impact Abercrombie has had this year. “She has been a major impact for our team this year. She is a player you want on your team on and off the court.”

Georgia College’s Jada Warren, who leads the nation with 14 rebounds per game, was held to just 10 boards. In last month’s matchup, Augusta limited her to eight rebounds.

“She is such a great rebounder, and we knew that would be a deciding factor for the game,” said Stewart. “We had to make sure to box her out.“

Despite securing a first-round home game, the Jaguars still have one regular-season game remaining. They will continue their road trip with a visit to Bluffton, South Carolina, to face USC Beaufort. The teams last met on Dec. 7, when Augusta defeated the Sand Sharks 72-50.

“They like to mix up their defenses and they are a well coached team so it’s going to be important that we capitalize offensively and defensively,” said Stewart on the upcoming matchup with the Sand Sharks.

Contact Jaxon Garner at jaxgarner@augusta.edu.

AU’s Sierra Burns takes the ball down the court versus North Georgia (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics). Top: Quinasia Abercrombie goes up for a contested layup versus North Georgia (Phot by Paula Toole/AU Athletics).

Jaguars handle Georgia College on the road for their fifth sweep of a conference foe this season

Jaguars handle Georgia College on the road for their fifth sweep of a conference foe this season

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