Box Score by Sam Jones, Sports Information Student Assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. - It's 12 in a row and a school record for the Georgia College women's basketball team (12-1, 4-0 PBC) after the Bobcats snuck by Georgia Southwestern State University (6-5, 0-3 PBC) 62-60 in overtime Monday night in Milledgeville.
The win tops the old mark of 11-straight victories to start the 2003-04 season.
The game followed a pattern that coach Maurice Smith and the Bobcats won't be eager to repeat again. In the midst of a win streak where the Bobcats have routinely shut the door on opposing teams, the Bobcats struggled to do the same tonight, allowing the Hurricanes to erase Bobcat leads multiple times.
The Bobcats led by six late in the first quarter before Georgia Southwestern scored five unanswered points to close out the frame, bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of the Bobcats.
GSW scored its seventh straight point to begin the second quarter and take a one-point lead over the Bobcats. It would be the last lead for the Hurricanes until 33 seconds left in regulation. The Bobcat offense finally awakened in the middle of the second quarter and began to pull away from the Hurricanes, going on an 11-1 run to give Georgia College a 12 point lead, its largest of the night. The Bobcats led 35-23 with 1:18 left in the second quarter before Georgia Southwestern closed out the half with six straight points, sending the Bobcats into the locker room with a 35-29 advantage.
Coach Smith's squad sputtered out of the starting blocks in the second half, only putting four points on the board in the first six minutes of the third quarter. Georgia Southwestern attempted to take advantage of the stagnant Bobcat offense, bringing the game within a point twice. After the Hurricanes closed the gap to one for the second time in the quarter, the Bobcats were able to find shelter from the storm late in the third, pulling away once again from their Peach Belt Conference (PBC) opponent, going on a 7-to-2 run to close out the third quarter up 45-40.
The Bobcats continued their run at the beginning of the fourth, extending the lead to 53-43 with 5:31 left in regulation after the team's leading scorer, Kadesha Gibbs (Claremont, North Carolina), finished a layup on a drive to the basket. Georgia College would hit a wall after the Gibbs layup and the Hurricanes would once again claw their way back in to the game.
The Hurricanes went on a 13-2 run, taking a one-point lead with 33 seconds left in regulation. The Bobcats, down 56-55, were bailed out by a Georgia Southwestern foul just nine seconds later. Gibbs was sent to the free throw line for two shots, making the first one but was unable to return the lead to Georgia College, missing the second chance from the line.
With the game tied 56-56, both teams missed opportunities to take the lead, sending the game to overtime.
In the first overtime game of the season for the Bobcats, Gibbs carried the team. The senior picked up the first five points in overtime for the Bobcats, making three free throws to help Georgia College take an early three point lead. Georgia Southwestern responded with five straight points to go up one with 1:16 left in overtime. Gibbs would come back down the court and make a huge layup to give the Bobcats another lead with 56 seconds left. The layup would be all the Bobcats would need as the defense locked down the Hurricanes for the final minute. Lindsey Reed (Stockbridge) added an extra point on a free throw to give the final blow to the Hurricanes as the Bobcats won their 12th straight.
Gibbs ended the night with a game-high 23 points and six rebounds. LaRice Walker (Franklin) put in a solid shift as well, ending the night with 12 points, a team-high six rebounds and five assists.
The Bobcats will try and make it 13 in a row Thursday night in Milledgeville, as the University of Montevallo Falcons come in to town for a PBC divisional matchup. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. in the Centennial Center.
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.
