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AIKEN, SC - The Georgia College & State
University women's basketball team (17-11) saw its season come to a
close tonight (March 5) in the quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt
Conference (PBC) Championship Tournament, dropping a 62-48 loss to
host USC Aiken (21-10).
Senior forward Tiauna Brantley
(Woodstock, Ga.) paced GCSU with 19 points and six
rebounds, while Antoinette Reames
(Orlando, Fla.) added nine points and eight boards.
Senior Morgan Johnson and junior Kendra Chandler keyed a
second-half run that enabled third-seeded USC Aiken to claim a
62-48 win over sixth-seeded GCSU.
USCA advances to face second-seeded Clayton State University in
Saturday's second semifinal game at 4 p.m. GCSU ends its
season at 17-11.
The Lady Pacers held GCSU to 36.4 percent shooting as the
Bobcats couldn't find the range from deep, going just 1-of-12 from
behind the three-point arc. The Bobcats entered the contest
as the PBC's top three-point shooting team in terms of makes (192)
and percent (35.0%).
Chandler led the Lady Pacers with 16 points and seven rebounds,
while Johnson added 14 points and nine rebounds.
With USCA holding a 38-32 lead, Johnson (8) and Chandler (7)
combined for 15 points in a 19-5 Lady Pacer spurt that resulted in
a 20-point margin (57-37) with 5:04 left. Altogether, USCA
held GCSU without a made field goal for exactly six minutes.
During the final 20 minutes, USCA shot 61.1 percent from the
floor, while holding the Bobcats to 7-of-20.
The first half was a nip-and-tuck affair that saw neither team
lead by more than four points. USCA led 19-15 only to see
GCSU counter with a 6-0 run to go up 21-19. During one
five-minute span, Brantley scored 10 straight Bobcat points.
The Lady Pacers led 26-23 at halftime thanks to a long
three-pointer by Meredith Legg with 1:12 left before intermission.
The loss brings the 2008-09 season to a close, a 17-11 year that
saw the Bobcats reach as high as No. 6 in the NCAA Regional
Rankings. Brantley and junior point guard Shandrea Moore (Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla.) were All-PBC Second Team selections, the
first season since 2003-04 that the Bobcats landed two on the
all-conference teams. The Bobcats lose the services of just three
seniors, as Brantley, Emily Bixler
(Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Tonishia Wimbish
(Ellenwood, Ga.) laced them up for the final time.
Visit www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate your favorite former
Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU Athletics Hall of Fame. The GCSU
Department of Athletics sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at
the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, GCSU prides
itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by
the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season competition as
well as documented academic success and community-service
involvement.
