Lady Jags Bomb Way Past UNCP

Lady Jags Bomb Way Past UNCP

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State junior guard Brittany White's first ever double-double and Amber Peterson's five three-point buckets paced the Augusta State Lady Jaguars to a 59-51 win over the UNC Pembroke Lady Braves Wednesday in Peach Belt Conference action.

The win lifted ASU to 9-10 on the season and 4-7 in the PBC. UNC Pembroke dropped to 8-9 and 5-4 respectively.

In what was expected to be a back-and-forth affair, neither team disappointed, as no team led by more than six in the first half. Peterson nailed her third bomb from downtown with 24 seconds left in the half to put ASU up five, but DeDe Cotten responded with one of her own as the buzzer sounded to send the Lady Jags into the locker room nursing a 31-29 lead.

It was more of the same coming out of the break, as the teams kept trading baskets until J Ashby's jumper cut the Pembroke lead to one with 4:09 left in the game. Cotten hit another 3, but it was Peterson's turn to answer, and Brittany White added a three of her own a minute later to put Augusta State up 52-50 with 2:38 to go.

Cotten was fouled on the next Lady Braves possession, making one of two free throws, but Peterson's final shot found nothing but net with 1:40 left, and J Ashby sealed the win off Becky Newhouse's steal with a jumper to give ASU a much-needed.

"It was great that we executed what we wanted to do tonight," said ASU head coach Nate Teymer. "We were lucky enough to go inside-out. Marina was a presence down low and they had to deal with that threat, so they sagged off us on the outside."

Peterson led the Lady Jags with 15 points, going 5-of-9 from deep range. Brittany White booked 14 points and a career-high 11 assists, keeping the offensive rhythm flowing throughout the ball game. Marina Fox scored a career-high 12 points, while J Ashby pulled down a game-tying 7 rebounds and also contributed 9 points.

The Lady Braves were led by DeDe Cotton's game-high 22 points, battling Peterson trey-for-trey by going 5-of-9 herself from deep. Courtney Bolton added 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

ASU shot 23of-55 (41.8 percent) on the night, including 9-of-23 from three range. UNC Pembroke canned 19-of-45 (42.2 percent) on the night and 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc and Cotten made all of Pembroke's threes.

Augusta State won the turnover battle for the second straight game, coughing it up just 12 times compared to the Lady Braves' 18.

The Lady Jags visit Montevallo on Saturday, Jan. 28 for a 2:30 p.m., (EST) matchup in BankTrust Arena.