Jaguar women advance to PBC semis with win over Georgia College
Justin Gray | Sports editor
The Augusta University women’s basketball team took down seventh-seeded Georgia College in a thriller, 68-63, on Thursday, March 7, to advance to the semifinals of the PBC tournament in Americus.
Georgia College came out of the gate poised to try and knock off the second-seeded Jaguars, going up 18-12 in the second quarter.
AU (22-7) stopped the Bobcat spurt and went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. The two teams battled and went into the half tied at 27.
Out of the half, the Jaguars tried to surge ahead and take control of the game, but the upset-seeking Bobcats just wouldn’t let them.
Neither team trailed by more than five in the third as this battle continued. Going into the final quarter of play, things were knotted up at 45.
In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars proved why they have only three losses in the conference as they extended their lead to eight with 6:13 left to play.
However, instead of finishing Georgia College off, the Jaguars let the Bobcats cut the lead down to one point because of missed free throws. Augusta would finish 15 of 27 from the stripe.
Georgia College only had 12.2 seconds to try and beat the Jaguars. The Bobcats called a timeout and drew up a play. It didn’t matter because Mone Florence stole the ball and took it the length of court to extend the lead to three.
The Bobcats had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer, but it didn’t fall and the Jaguars advanced
The first round of a tournament can be the hardest to make it out of because there is so much pressure, but the Jaguars handled it.
Autumn Phillips led the Jags with 19 points and six rebounds. Florence added 14 points and the biggest play of the game.
Kalen Surles had 10 points and five rebounds. Kennedi Manning led AU on the boards with nine rebounds. Manning also had nine points.
Augusta will now take on No. 3 Columbus State (18-9) on Friday, March 8, at 5 p.m. Columbus State defeated Clayton State 71-64 in another quarterfinal game on Thursday afternoon.
Coach Celeste Stewart’s team swept the Cougars in the regular season, winning 67-57 in Columbus and 65-51 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
With AU sitting seventh in the Southeast Regional rankings, the Jaguars should be in in the NCAA Division II tournament, but don’t need to leave it up to chance.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Mone Florence (1) had a key steal and totaled 14 points to ensure AU’s victory over the Bobcats in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in Americus. At the top of the page, Autumn Phillips (5) led the Jaguars with 19 points. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
