DAHLONEGA, Ga. – A put-back by junior Alyah McGriff (Suwanee) with two seconds remaining provided the difference Friday as the Georgia College Women's Basketball team (1-0) started its 2016-17 campaign with a 71-70 victory over Emmanuel College (1-1) in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC)/Conference Carolinas (CC) Crossover at the University of North Georgia.

With 10 seconds left on the clock and trailing by a point 70-69, the Bobcats drew up a play for Shay Tarver (Covington). Coming off a screen, Tarver's aggressiveness drew McGriff's defender, allowing the Bobcat junior to crash the glass and get the put-back win.

The Bobcats started slow, and had a deficit as big as 18 with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Georgia College went on a tear from there, including a dominant 25-13 effort in the fourth quarter alone.

The Bobcats trailed nearly the entire contest, finally taking over for the first time on a Veronica Ryan (Clearwater, Florida) three-pointer with just 26 seconds left in the game. Ryan got all 11 of her points in the final frame. Emmanuel took the lead back on the next possession for a 70-69 advantage, setting up McGriff's heroics.

"This win was a direct result of our team's willingness to not give up," said head coach Maurice Smith. "Emmanuel is a very good team who is very well coached. They got up big on us but we never hung our heads and we kept fighting. I'm very proud of our team and the toughness they displayed today."

McGriff led the Bobcats with 19 points, narrowly missing a double-double with a game-high nine boards and four assists. Ryan finished with 11 points, knocking down three from long range, grabbing four boards and dishing out three assists. Sophomore forward Ana Anderson (Sharpsburg) came off the pine for 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting, grabbing six rebounds as well.

The Bobcats dominated the glass 35-24 and the Georgia College reserves outscored their counterparts 33-0.

The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. wrapping up the two-day classic against Auburn University-Montgomery.

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.