Petersburg, Va. – The Augusta University Women's Basketball team lost a hard fought 60-56 contest to Shaw today in a non-conference match-up. The Jaguars fall to 2-4 on the season while the Bears improve to 2-2.
Augusta was severely outmatched in the first half, only scoring 10 points over two quarters of play, to Shaw's 24. The Jags found new life in the second half however, outscoring their opponents 46-36 in an attempt to make a comeback.
With Augusta down 24-10 after halftime, the Jaguars opened up play with an 11-5 run, highlighted by Crystal Corley draining a three-pointer to give the offense some spark. Shaw would maintained their distance though, closing out the third with a 40-26 lead.
The fourth quarter was something to behold. The Jags dropped 30 points on their foes, showing they wouldn't go without a fight. Augusta inched closer and closer to their opponent and, with a little over three minutes to play in the game, Kiera Howard sunk a pair of free-throws to bring the score to 51-50, nearly erasing a 14 point defecate.
The Bears would pick up some free points within the final two minutes to regain a six point lead, but Corley drew a foul on a good three-point basket and made the ensuing free throw to make it a two point game with only 20 seconds to go. The Bears played keep away with the Jaguars with only a handful of second remaining, forcing Augusta to foul to keep their hopes of a comeback alive. Shaw would make four of their six free-throws to keep the Jags at bay, and close out the game.
For the game, Augusta was 21-of-58 from the field including a six-for-20 mark from downtown. The Jags made eight free-throws on eight attempts to be perfect in that category all while snagging 30 rebounds and notching eight steals.
Individually the Jags were led by Zairya West who dropped in an outstanding 20 points in the contest, going eight-for-11 and four-for-six from beyond the three point arch. West also led her squad with four steals on the night and picked up a block. Corley and Kennedi Manning each broke into double digits in scoring, with Corley picking up 13 and Manning managing 10. Manning also led the team in rebounds, picking up seven in the game.
The Jags return to action tomorrow when they take on Virginia State on the road at 3:00 p.m.