CARROLLTON, Ga. - It took five periods to get it done, but in the end, the UWG women's basketball team prevailed on Saturday afternoon at The Coliseum.
The Wolves (7-10, 4-8 GSC), taking on an upstart Christian Brothers (6-15, 5-10) squad, won the offensive shootout, as the two teams combined for more than 180 points and four players between the two teams combined scored more than 20 points in a 93-89 overtime victory for UWG.
The two teams played to a draw in the opening period, with Cece Carter scoring eight of her 24 points in the first quarter. It was a back-and-forth struggle for the entire period, with the horn sounding on a 20-20 tie. For Carter, it was the fourth time in the last seven games that the senior has scored at least 20 points in a game.
In the second quarter, the Wolves came out firing on all cylinders, going on an 8-0 run in the first three minutes of the period and things looked to be going the way of the wolf. But Christian Brothers would not go away quietly, clawing their way back with a 15-9 run to close out the second period as West Georgia hung onto a slim 37-35 lead heading into the locker room at the break.
The third quarter was the
Jaylin Austin show on the side of the Wolves, as the junior forward scored nine of her 24 points in that period. The Wolves and Bucs went shot-for-shot in the period, with the two teams heading to the fourth quarter with CBU narrowing the margin to just one point at 57-56.
Over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, the Wolves were eight points better than the Bucs, as a Carter jumper with 4:02 left in the game put UWG on top with a 75-66 advantage. CBU responded with a 7-0 run, cutting the UWG advantage to 75-73 with 2:29 left in the game. Austin hit a layup with 11 seconds left to give the Wolves an 80-78 lead, only to have CBU's Yaya Coleman sink a layup with three seconds left to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Wolves built a four-point advantage and hit enough free-throws late in the game to ensure that CBU never had the ball with a chance to tie the contest in the final three minutes of the period.
Austin had one of the best games of her career, putting up 24 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in the victory as one of two players for the Wolves with a double-double.
Valencia Carroll also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Carter also had 24 points and seven rebounds. West Georgia will be back in action on Monday evening in a makeup game against Auburn-Montgomery. First tip in that one is set for 5:30 p.m.
