Lady Cougars Hit the Road for Two Non-Conference Matchups

COLUMBUS –The Columbus State women’s basketball team will look to extend its best start since 2002-03 this weekend as they travel to Pensacola, Florida to participate in the 2010 Highpointe Hotel Corporation UWF Argo Classic. The Lady Cougars will take on the University of Alabama-Huntsville in the first game of the classic on Friday at 6:00 pm and will take on tourney host West Florida at 5:00 pm on Saturday.

The Lady Cougars enter this weekend’s classic with an overall record of 4-0 and a 1-0 mark away from home.  In their lone road contest this season CSU registered a thrilling 59-57 win over Fort Valley State on November 27th.

In their most recent action, Columbus State defeated Shorter 66-51 on Monday night.  CSU was tremendous on the defensive end of the floor, limiting the Lady Hawks to 32.7 percent shooting from the floor. They forced 20 Shorter turnovers that led to 24 points, while also blocking 10 Lady Hawks’s shots.

For the season, CSU has held opponents to just 32 percent shooting from the floor while limiting them to 25 percent from beyond the arc. Through four games opponents have yet to reach the 60 point mark, with the Lady Cougars holding the opposition to 51 points or less in three of four contests this season. Columbus State has forced 72 turnovers through four games, an average of 18 per game.

Dominique Gilbert scored in double figures for the fourth straight game and barely missed registering her second double-double of the year with 22 points and eight boards. The Lady Cougars had three other players reach double figures for the night.  Nakita Holt chipped in with 12 points while Asha Alexander and Tandria Milton added 11 and 10, respectively.

In Friday night’s matchup, Columbus State will take on the Lady Chargers of Alabama Huntsville (2-3).  UAH is coming off an 82-74 win over Christian Brothers on Monday night. On the year the Lady Chargers have four players averaging over 10 points per game. Jasmine Hammon leads the way averaging 16.8 per game. The 5-foot-9 freshman guard has registered two 20 point performances through five games. Other key players to watch for UAH are Candace Lee (13.6 ppg), Janie Graves (11.6 ppg), and Erin Reynolds (10.2 ppg).

Through five contests opponents are shooting over 40 percent from both the floor and three-point range against the Lady Chargers.  On the glass, UAH has been outrebounded by 223-200 margin on the season.

UAH is 4-2 all-time versus CSU with the last meeting coming on December 16, 1995. That game resulted in an 84-53 win for the Lady Chargers.

In the Lady Cougar’s second matchup of the weekend they will take on West Florida (3-3) on Saturday at 5:00 pm.  The Lady Argos have dropped three straight games after a 70-57 loss at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday night.

West Florida is led by Jessica Young who averages 10.5 points per game while also grabbing 10.7 boards. Other key players to watch for the Lady Argos are Octavia Bearden (9.3 ppg) and Kristin McIntyre (9.3 ppg). Bearden a 5-foot-11 senior forward from Hillsboro, Alabama has registered two double-doubles through six games.

Defensively, West Florida has limited the opposition to 32.2 percent shooting from the floor and only 57.0 points per game.  UWF has dominated on the boards, holding a 300-222 advantage for the year.
Columbus State is 0-1 all-time against West Florida.  The Lady Cougars and West Florida faced off last season in the UWF Argo Classic with the Lady Argos posting an 82-77 victory. Live stats for this weekend’s games will be available through www.csucougars.com.