Morton and West’s 3-point shooting leads AU past Young Harris 69-52
By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor
November Morton and Zairya West shot lights out from behind the 3-point arc as the Augusta University women’s basketball team defeated Young Harris College 69-52 on Saturday, Jan. 8, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Morton and West shot a combined 8 of 11 from behind the 3-point line, each making four 3-pointers. Morton led the Jaguars in scoring with 18 points. Ashleigh Boulin was second in scoring for the Jaguars, scoring 14 points off the bench. West was the only other AU player in double figures, scoring 12 points.
Mackenzie Johnson led Young Harris with 16 points. Kalen Surles and Carly Winters both finished with 12 points for the Mountain Lions.
The Jaguars shot 49 percent from the field, which AU Coach Milette Green said was much improved from the last game.
“We did not shoot it well against Georgia College,” she said. “We shot it 24 percent, and we just tried to focus on defense to get our offense going.”
The Jaguars (2-1 in the Peach Belt, 9-3 overall) started out the game struggling with turnovers, turning over the ball seven times in the first quarter. AU’s defensive effort forced Young Harris (1-3, 9-4) to shoot 3 of 16 in the first quarter, so despite the turnovers, the Jaguars still led 14-9 early.
AU continued to struggle with turnovers in the second quarter but forced the Mountain Lions to seven turnovers of their own and the Jaguars led 31-22 at the half.
“We did have some turnovers,” said Green. “We made the adjustment in the second half, but I think it started with our defensive intensity.”
The Jaguars adjusted and dominated in the third quarter early, starting out with a 14-2 run. West continued the momentum late in the third quarter, converting a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Young Harris tried to battle back in the fourth quarter, outscoring AU 16-14, but it was too late, and the Jaguars won convincingly.
“The opponent’s goal is to take away our inside presence,” Green said. “They tend to key on Kennedi a lot and now we have Zairya and November that can stretch the floor, as well as players coming off the bench, so today we utilized those threats. Last game we didn’t shoot it with confidence and as a coach we tell them, do what you do well and that’s what we practiced on, and they came out and made the shots they have been making.”
AU’s next game will be on the road at Lander (2-1, 10-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
“We have three keys to winning games, and that is defending with high intensity, rebounding the basketball and then offensive execution,” said Green. “Offensive execution for us starts with our defense creating the offense and executing at the halfcourt, moving the ball side to side, not being stagnant, inside touches and kick-outs. We just need to continue to get our offense in rhythm, but it starts with our defense.”
Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.
Kiera Howard (3) passes the ball to teammate Je’Bria Fullwood (15) during AU’s win over the Mountain Lions at Christenberry Fieldhouse. At the top of the page, Kennedi Manning (24) gets fouled as she goes to the hoop; teammate Ashleigh Boulin (11) watches. (photos by Chris Rickerson)
