ROME, Ga. | Deshona Gaither scored a career-high 33 points to lead Georgia College & State University past Shorter University 57-55 in a non-conference women's basketball game Saturday (Dec. 20) afternoon at the Winthrop-King Centre.

The Bobcats improved to 3-8 and will now break for the holidays until they face Fort Valley State University Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. inside the Centennial Center, while the Hawks fell to 4-5.

Gaither, a senior guard from Commerce, Georgia, connected on 10-of-19 field goals and was 13-of-17 from the free throw line, while pulling down eight rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists.

The game featured 15 ties and 11 lead changes saw Shorter open up its largest lead of the game at eight points (44-36) as Anya Patterson hit a three-pointer with six seconds remaining in the third quarter. GCSU withered the lead down to three points (46-43) after Gaither sank a free throw with 5:49 remaining in regulation. After Aijah Manning hit two free throws to give the Hawks a 48-43 lead, the Bobcat defense stiffened as they didn't allowed Shorter a field goal the rest of the quarter.

Gaither got back-to-back layups and hit two free throws to give the Bobcats a 49-48 lead with 1:59 to play. Shorter sent the game into overtime when Jaliyah Zackery hit the second of two free throws with one second to tie the game at 49.

The Bobcats got out of the gates quickly to start the extra period as they scored the first five points on a Sloane Vick jumper and an old-fashioned three-point play from Natalia Bolden to open up a 54-49  lead with 3:21 to go. Shorter responded with the next six points to open a 55-54 lead, but Gaither gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 56-55 with 48 seconds remaining. Gaither hit one of two throws with 18 seconds left to seal the win at 57-55. Shorter had one last chance to tie the game, but the Hawks missed it and Bolden pulled down the defensive rebound to secure the win.

Bolden led the Bobcats with 12 rebounds as GCSU held a 40-33 edge on the glass. Bolden also added nine points and three steals. Patterson led Shorter with 16 points, while Manning added 15.

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of 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 postseason 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 or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics. 

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