By Sean Montgomery, Sports Information Student Assistant

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College women's basketball team (11-1, 3-0 PBC) started off the 2016 calendar year with a victory over Peach Belt Conference (PBC) foe the University of North Georgia (10-2, 2-1 PBC). The Bobcats clawed out the victory in a close, defensive battle, handing the Nighthawks their first PBC loss of the season, 66-58.

The win increases the Bobcat victory streak to 11-straight, tying the school record for consecutive wins, set in the first 11 contests of the 2003-04 season.

Both teams got off to a slow start, scoring a combined 20 points in the first quarter of play. The stingy Nighthawk defense held the Bobcats to just six points, five of which came from senior standout Kadesha Gibbs (Claremont, North Carolina). Gibbs would finish the game with eight points and eight rebounds.

The defensive battle would continue for the entirety of the game, as both teams shot fewer than 40 percent from the field. North Georgia was held to 32.8 percent on 67 shots, while Georgia College was more efficient, shooting 37 percent on 54 shots.

The Bobcats would also win the turnover battle, as they coughed the ball up just 10 times, six fewer than the Nighthawks. Georgia College capitalized, turning the North Georgia errors into 10 points.

Three Bobcat women scored in double digits: Lindsey Reed (Stockbridge), Mckenna Rushton (Gainesville) and Alyah McGriff (Suwanee).

Reed led the team with 12 points, half of which came on her perfect six-for-six shooting from the free-throw line. Rushton rained in 11 points, nine coming from behind the arc, while also snatching five rebounds. McGriff posed a nice inside presence, scoring 10 points on 55.6 percent (5-9) shooting in just 16 minutes on the floor. She also hauled in three rebounds in the winning effort.

Tied at 25 a piece after two quarters of play, the Bobcats went on to outscore the Nighthawks 41-33 in the second half. 

Nighthawk player Kelsey Hutchins led all scorers in the game, as she erupted for a double-double effort; scoring 22 points off of the bench while ripping down 12 rebounds. Teammate Cierra Jackson also posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.  However, their impacts would not be enough as the Bobcats held onto a 10-point lead (their largest) in the fourth quarter before closing out the game.

With the victory, the Bobcat women have now reeled off an impressive 11 wins in a row. The team will look break the school record as they play host to Georgia Southwestern State University Monday, Jan. 4 in the Centennial Center for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.