DAHLONEGA, Ga. | Ashyia Willis led Georgia College & State University with 15 points as the Bobcats stunned No. 5 University of North Georgia 51-43 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game Wednesday (Feb. 4) evening at Lynn Cottrell Arena.
The Bobcats improved to 12-9 overall and 5-6 in the PBC, while the Nighthawks lost their second game of the year, falling to 18-2 and 8-2. GCSU will host Flagler College Saturday (Feb. 8) at 1:30 p.m. inside the Centennial Center.
The Bobcats jumped ahead early to a seven-point lead as Deshona Gaither and Nylah Nuri would put down three pointers. Evie DePetro would add to the GCSU lead moments later, with three-point shots on back-to-back trips as the Bobcats opened up a 19-7 lead with 2:49 left in the opening stanza.
That lead would quickly disappear in the first few minutes of the second half, as a 12-2 run, capped off my an Ansley Hall three-pointer for the lead, would put GCSU in its first deficit since the first minute of the game at 23-21. North Georgia took a 29-21 lead into the locker room as the Bobcats went scoreless the final 7:58 of the quarter.
The Bobcats would chip into the Nighthawk lead throughout the third quarter, and a 9-2 run to end the quarter, formed by back-to-back layups from Willis and finished off by a layup by Nuri would give the Bobcats a 38-37 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Neither team would score in the fourth quarter until almost halfway through, with UNG taking the lead back at 40-38; however, Gaither gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 42-40 with 3:06 on a layup.
The Nighthawks got as close as a point at 42-41 on their ensuing possession, but Willis quashed any UNG comeback when she sank a three-pointer on GCSU's next possession to open a 45-41 lead.
Gaither, DePetro, and Chandler Davis added seven apiece for the Bobcats, while Jada Warren grabbed 14 rebounds to pull her career total to 996. Warren needs four more rebounds to become the second person in program history to grab 1,000 rebounds and 10 more to becoming the program's all-time leading rebounder. Hannah Cali led in assists with four.
About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five 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.
