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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University women's basketball team hosted the Columbus State Cougars on Saturday afternoon for the first home game of 2018 and the Jaguars dropped a heartbreaking 77-72 overtime game in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Augusta is now 3-7 on the season and 1-5 in the Peach Belt Conference. Columbus State moved to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the PBC.
For the game, the Jags shot 39.7 percent from the floor (25-of-63) and went 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from the three-point line and 14-of-20 (70 percent) at the free-throw line. Augusta outrebounded CSU 55-46, but the Cougars scored 15 points off turnovers and had 18 second-chance points.
Columbus State shot 32.5 percent from field-goal range (26-of-80) and were 21-of-29 from the free-throw line (72.4 percent).
Senior Joshlyn Belcher led the Jags with 16 points, Jahmia Bradley had 13, Ashleigh Outler 10, and Brianna Middleton posted 14 rebounds and eight points.
AU made the first shot of the game to take an early lead, but the Cougars kept up offensively and went on a 21-13 run in the first 10-minute period. It was a 10-point game with seven minutes to go in the first half when the Jags sparked a comeback.
Belcher hit back-to-back treys to cut the deficit to seven and Jahmia Bradley canned the next basket in the paint to get the Jags closer. AU had the ball in the final possession of the first half and went into halftime with all the momentum down 35-22.
In a tight start to the third period, Outler found Belcher on a sprint and she hit a trey to get Augusta within two at 44-42 with 4:58 to go in the period. Goldsborough tied the game with a layup off an assist from Mallory Myers and the score danced back and forth with under a minute in the third.
AU trailed 53-50 to start the final 10 minutes of action, and Outler hit a wide-open layup to continue the Augusta offense. The contest stayed within five points for the whole fourth period. Belcher's fourth three-pointer of the game with just over four minutes to play brought AU within two and Cynara Pitt's layup tied the game 63-all with 2:50 to go. Regulation time ended with the score at 66-all and the Cougars outscored AU 11-6 in overtime to win a 77-72 game.
Augusta begins a three game road trip on Wednesday, Jan. 10 with a PBC game at UNC Pembroke in Pembroke, N.C., at 5:30 p.m.
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