Lady Warhawks get win #20 @ Middle Georgia, 63-59
The Auburn Montgomery women’s basketball team picked up its 20th victory of the season Thursday with a 63-59 Southern States Athletic Conference road win at Middle Georgia.
NOTES
• The Warhawks improved to 20-7 on the season and 11-4 in SSAC play. AUM now has a 1.5 game lead over Martin Methodist for the No. 3 spot in the league standings.
• The Lady Knights fell to 8-17 overall and 4-12 in conference games.
• AUM remained undefeated in the series against Middle Georgia, improving to 4-0 all time.
• With their 20th victory, the Warhawks have now won 20 or more in two consecutive seasons and three times in the last four years.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Senior Reggotta Craig recorded her 13th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds. She added two steals.
• Fellow senior Jatoria Carter scored 21 points, marking the fifth consecutive game she has score 20 or more points. She added six steals, five rebounds and an assist.
• Junior Kyla Rooks finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
• Senior Marren Schwartz came off the bench to score two points, pull down four offensive rebounds and tally three steals.
• TyAsia Grayer recorded a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds for Middle Georgia.
• Tascianna Taylor and Jaylyn Jones finished with 12 points each for the Knights.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM held a quarter-best five-point lead, 11-6, following a basket by Carter with 2:57 remaining in the first. The Knights rallied and tied the score at 12-12, but Rooks hit a jumper with 10 seconds left in the quarter and gave the Warhawks a 14-12 lead after the first period.
• The second quarter featured five lead changes and a pair of ties, including as late as 3:03 remaining. The Warhawks answered with 3-pointers by Craig and Kaylan Withrow to pull ahead by six points, but Middle Georgia closed the quarter with a 6-2 spurt. AUM held a 34-32 lead at the half.
• After a jumper by Jones tied the score in the opening minute of the third quarter, the Warhawks scored seven straight points and took a 41-34 lead. AUM led by as many as eight in the quarter, before heading to the fourth ahead 50-43.
• The Warhawks held a 57-49 advantage with 4:34 remaining on a Craig jumper. The Knights countered with six consecutive points, pulling to within two points, 57-55, with 3:07 to play. Middle Georgia remained within a pair of points after a Grayer hoop, but the Warhawks held the Knights scoreless in the final 2:03 of the game to preserve the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• AUM converted 35 percent of its shots for the game, hitting 21-of-60 attempts. The Warhawks made 6-of-17 3-point attempts and 15-of-20 shots from the charity stripe.
• Middle Georgia made 34.4 percent of its shots, despite hitting just 5-of-21 from behind the arc.
• For just the fifth time this season, the Warhawks committed more turnovers than their opponent. AUM committed 19 miscues, while forcing 15. Despite losing the turnover battle, the Warhawks recorded 21 points off turnovers, compared to just 12 for the Knights.
• Middle Georgia ranked third nationally in offensive rebounds and fifth in total rebounds. However, the Warhawks held a 44-40 advantage in total rebounds and a 14-12 advantage in offensive boards.
QUOTING THE COACH
“Both teams played well tonight, so it was nice to get out of here with a win,” head coach Dan Davis said. “I told them in the pregame that I thought defense would win this game. We locked in from the opening tip and that was extremely positive. I thought we were careless with the basketball tonight, but that is something we can work on. I was really proud of the fight the girls showed.”
UP NEXT
• The Warhawks will return to action Saturday, Feb. 20, when they travel to Brenau for a 1 p.m. contest.
