FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-1-06

Women's College Basketball: AASU 65, Augusta State 54

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State women's basketball squad won its second straight with a 65-54 win over Augusta State at the George A. Christenberry Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.

The Lady Pirates (10-9, 5-7 PBC) looked to have the game under control, up 41-31 with 14:35 remaining, but Augusta State (7-13, 2-9 PBC) used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to climb to within two points, 45-43, with 7:32 left in the contest. Senior Alicia Durham canned a three-pointer with 7:20 left put the lead back to six, 48-43, and Augusta State never threatened afterwards AASU hit 17-of-20 free throws in the second half to help preserve the win.

Durham finished the night with 11 points and six steals for the Lady Pirates, while Audosha Kelley led AASU with 15 points and Kaneetha Gordon added 12 points and nine rebounds. Tracey Paschal led all scorers for Augusta State with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.

The Jaguars hit four straight shots from the floor to take an early 8-7 lead in the game's first four minutes, but the Pirates hit six straight shots of their own at one stretch to open up a 15-9 lead with 14:11 left in the first half. AASU kept that lead into halftime, taking a 34-27 advantage into the break. All 10 AASU players who got into the game in the first half dented the scoring column as Gordon led the Lady Pirates in the first half with nine points to go with five rebounds, while Alena Batovska led the Lady Jaguars with seven points.

AASU returns to action on Saturday, January 4, when the Lady Pirates host USC Aiken at 2:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena.

-Pirates-