Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

From Staff Reports

 

AMERICUS – The Georgia Southwestern women’s basketball team (GSW) closed the Storm Dome for the year with a 74-50 win over Albany State in a game in which they led the entire way. The Lady Hurricane defense forced 31 turnovers, with 18 of them being steals. Although the three-point shots didn’t fall today, the Lady Hurricanes found peace in the paint, scoring 40 points.

GSW Women’s Head Coach Justin Payne found light in his freshmen, as six-of seven freshmen got over 11 minutes of play time in their dominating performance.

GSW junior guard Lex Chatman ended the night with her seventh career double-double by picking up 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

GSW opened up the first quarter with a quick 8-0 lead before ASU was finally able to get on the board with 6:32 remaining in the first quarter. The Golden Rams were able to cut the score down by two possessions at 11-6, but GSW scored on its next three possessions to go up 17-8 into the second quarter.

After the Golden Rams scored in the opening minute, both teams went on a scoring drought. However, Jamesha Samuel drained her only three-pointer of the night, followed by a three-point play with 7:01 remaining in the half to end the scoring drought up, 23-10. With 2:30 remaining in the half, ASU was able to cut the lead down to single digits at 27-19, but a putback by K’Shouri Hodge pushed the lead back to double-digits. GSW took strong a 34-22 lead going into halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, with GSW leading 46-31, Coach Payne put in some freshman players to give them some valuable playing experience. Lauren Shepherd got her career started with a jump shot from inside the paint and Kennedy Collins saw action for the first time, hitting a three from the corner to help with GSW’s lead. The Lady Hurricanes held on to a double-digit 74-50 victory to complete the sweep of ASU.

GSW led from the free throw line, completing 20-of-27 for 74.1 percent, while ASU shot 50 percent from the line. GSW outscored ASU 40-30 in points in the paint. The Lady Hurricanes also forced 31 turnovers and turned them into 29 quick points. The Golden Rams held a slight 50-44 rebound advantage to end the night.

Samuel also had 19 points and Jaleah Storr got it done on the defensive end with three steals. Daelyn Craig led with six steals and one block, while Yasmin Perez and Collins each finished with six points.

ASU’s Kierra York led the Golden Rams with 19 points and eight rebounds and Martajah Tyler finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Lady Hurricanes will play a rescheduled exhibition game against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Dec. 17.