AMERICUS, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Women's Basketball team (15-14) had a tall order in taking on Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Regular-Season Champion Georgia Southwestern State University (22-6) in the opening round of the conference tourney Wednesday. The No. 8-seed Bobcats' upset bid fell short to the No. 1-seed and national No. 19 Hurricanes by a 67-55 score.

The Bobcats started strong, leading as late as the 2:00 mark in the first quarter 10-7. A late surge for GSW put the Hurricanes up 13-10 at the end of the first break, and they led the rest of the way.

GSW continued to steadily add to their advantage over the course of the game. GCSU had the advantage down to single digits on a couple of cases in the fourth, but could get no closer.

Senior guard Harper Vick (Marietta) led the Bobcats with 15 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Ashyia Willis (Gainesville) chipped in 11 points as well.

The turnover bug bit the Bobcats tonight, as a high-pressure GSW defense caused 24 takeaways, matching the season-high for GCSU. The Bobcats kept it close by dominating rebounding numbers 41-29. The glass-cleaning effort was led by sophomore Jada Warren (Norcross), pulling in 13 boards while classmate Alexis Figures (Buford) added a career-high nine.

Vick's scoring tonight helped her finish her career with 1,342 points, good for fifth in school history. She passed Enisha Donley (2015) in today's action.

The loss brings a close to an exciting 2022-23 season for GCSU, making an appearance in the PBC Tournament for the first time since 2018-19 and the most wins since the 2017-18 campaign. The season began with a six-game win streak, and was highlighted by Vick climbing the all-time scoring ranks.

Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.