COLUMBUS, Ga. | Olonna Rawls' layup with two seconds remaining was the difference as Columbus State University outlasted Georgia College & State University 70-68 in a Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game at the Lumpkin Center Sunday (March 2) afternoon.

The Cougars earned the No. 2 seed in this week's PBC Tournament as they improved to 20-7 overall and to 14-4 in the Peach Belt, while the Bobcats will be the No. 4 seed as they fell to 16-12 and 9-9.

GCSU and Flagler College finished in a tie for fourth place. The two teams split its two meetings during the season - each defending their home court - and the Bobcats won the tiebreaker as they defeated top seed University of North Georgia last month in Dahlonega, Georgia. The Bobcats will host their first PBC Tournament game since the 2011 campaign that saw GCSU win the tournament when they host Flagler in a 7:30 p.m. contest inside the Centennial Center. It also the highest seed for the Bobcats in the tournament since they were the No. 5 seed in the 2018 tournament and upset No. 4 seed Flagler in the quarterfinals.

Columbus State used a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take a 66-59 lead after Zuzanna Rudenko connected on a three-pointer with 3:54 to go.However, the Bobcats clawed back over the next three minutes and tied the game at 66 after a Deshona Gaither layupo with 42 seconds left punctuated a 7-0 run of their own. The Cougars took the lead on their next possession at 68-66 on a Rudenko layup with 24 ticks left. A jumper in the paint from Ashiya Willis 12 seconds later knotted the game for the final time at 68.

After a layup by Rawls put the Cougars up 70-68, the Bobcats had one more chance to win the game or send it into overtime, but GCSU committed its 23rd turnover of the contest and Columbus State, who scored 26 points off turnovers, was able to run out the clock. 

Willis, who was 9-of-14 from the floor, led the Bobcats with 19 points, while Evie DePetro, who was 6-of-9 (4-of-5 from long distance) from the floor, added 16. GCSU all-time leading rebounder Jad Warren pulled 15 rebounds for the Bobcats.

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.  Read Full Article