COLUMBUS, GA – GSW junior forward Mariya Trimble notched her fifth career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds as she led the Georgia Southwestern State University women’s basketball team to a hard-fought 78-75 win at Columbus State (CSU) on Wednesday evening, January 16.

The Lady Hurricanes have now won three straight games. This is the Lady Hurricanes’ second all-time victory over the Cougars. Before Wednesday night’s win, the Lady Hurricanes hadn’t beaten CSU since 2012. It was the Cougars’ first home loss of the season.

The score was tied 71-71 with 1:44 left in the game. GSW junior guard Morgan Towells was fouled and went to the free-throw line. She sank both foul shots to give the Lady Hurricanes a two-point lead. On CSU’s next possession, Lele Young blocked a shot and the Lady Hurricanes got the ball back. Towells was fouled and drained two more free throws to increase GSW’s lead to 75-71.

With 38 seconds left in the game, the Cougars closed the score to one possession. They then forced another turnover and scored to tie the game at 75-75 with 20 seconds left. Trimble scored on GSW’s next possession to regain the lead for the Lady Hurricanes. After a missed shot by CSU, Young grabbed the rebound and was fouled. The Gainesville, FL freshman guard made one of her two foul shots, but it was enough to earn GSW the win..

Freshman guard Lex Chatman opened the game for the Lady Hurricanes with a three-pointer. At that point, both teams traded baskets. The Cougars’ Anna Stewart hit a jumper to put CSU in front 6-5. However, at that point, the Lady Hurricanes took the game over. They went on a 9-2 run to take a 14-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Cougars were able to tie the game at 19-19 and regained a one-point lead at 20-19 with 4:07 left in the half. The Lady Hurricanes went on a 12-9 run to close out the first half to lead 32-28 at halftime.

The Lady Hurricanes came out strong to start the second half. They built a 39-30 lead with 6:34 left in the third quarter. As time went on, the CSU defense showed up and kept the Lady Hurricanes from going on any more scoring runs. However, Towells was hot from beyond the arc in the third quarter. She hit two three-pointers in the quarter and scored a total of 10 third-quarter points. By the time the fourth quarter began, GSW had a 54-50 lead. GSW would go on to win 78-75 thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch.

With the win, the Lady Hurricanes improved their overall record to 7-6 and they are now 4-3 in the Peach Belt Conference. They shot 45 percent from the field and 76 percent from the foul line. CSU finished the game shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 59.1 percent from the foul line. The Cougars drop to 7-5 on the season and 4-4 in the PBC.

Towells finished with 19 points and three assists to help the Lady Hurricanes earn the win. Chatman scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in the winning cause.

Both Young and Jamesha Samuel scored eight points off the bench for GSW. Young, who is five-feet tall, pulled down eight rebounds. Leeaysia Williamson led the Cougars with 15 points.

The Lady Hurricanes will try to keep their winning streak going when they travel to Florence, SC on Saturday, January 19, to take on the Lady Patriots of Francis Marion University (6-5, 3-4 PBC). Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.