GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Columbus State University sank 19 three-pointers and defeated Tusculum University 97-84 in the Jersey Mike’s Women’s Basketball Regional Challenge Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
The 24th-ranked Cougars (2-0) placed five players in double figures, led by a game-high 23 points from Olanna Ralws. Letiya Reeves added 17 points and Jasmine Rai Stevens chipped in with 16 for Columbus State, which led by as many as 26 points before Tusculum cut the margin in half in the fourth quarter.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield led the Pioneers (0-2) with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth career double-double, with Monique Shim and Jalyn Spurlin adding 15 points apiece. Danyell Booker reached double figures for the second straight game with 10 points off the bench as the Pioneers shot an even 50 percent (27-for-54) from the field.
Tusculum outrebounded Columbus State 51-39, but the Pioneers turned the ball over 35 times which led to 38 points for the Cougars. Zoe Sharpe had eight points and six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers, who got 39 points from their subs in the game.
The Cougars went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to build an 18-point lead, but the Pioneers ran off 14 in a row in the second quarter to cut a 21-point deficit to seven. However, Columbus State scored the final 11 points of the first half to go up 52-34 at intermission.
Columbus State raced to an 11-2 lead after 3 1/2 minutes and the Cougars went 8-for-13 from three-point range in the opening period, including threes from Aaliyah Ferrell, Bre’lyn Snipes and Rawls during an 11-0 spurt that put Columbus State up 28-10 with 1:53 left in the first quarter. The Cougars would go up 34-16 at the end of one period on 11-for-19 shooting (57.9 percent) in the quarter.
The Pioneers trailed 41-20 after a three-pointer from Reeves with 8:13 left in the first half, but the Pioneers would run off 14 consecutive points that included four points from Chesterfield and Spurlin to cut the margin to 41-34 with 2:29 left in the half. However, a steal led to a three-pointer from Rawls, and Stevens added back-to-back threes to push the Columbus State lead back to 52-34 at halftime.
Rawls led all players with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including four three-pointers, and Stevens added 12 on 4-for-4 from three-point range as Columbus State shot 12-for-24 from beyond the arc in the half. Chesterfield led the Pioneers with eight points and five rebounds, with seven points from Abbi Douglas and six points and four boards from Spurlin. Tusculum shot 37.9 percent (11-for-29) as a team and had 18 turnovers in the opening half.
The third quarter belonged to Shim, who hit all four of her three-point attempts and scored 12 points in the period. Columbus State responded with five three-pointers of its own in the quarter, with Reeves scoring eight points as the Cougars went up 81-56 entering the fourth.
After the Cougars went up 89-65 on a three-pointer from Snipes with 7:11 left, the Pioneers went on a 16-4 run that included eight points from Chesterfield as Tusculum trimmed the deficit to 93-81 with 1:21 remaining.
Douglas finished with nine points and a career-high eight assists in 23 minutes for the Pioneers, while Ferrell collected 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench for the Cougars.
Tusculum shot 6-for-15 from three-point range and went 24-for-35 from the foul line (68.6 percent). The Pioneers had a 19-18 edge in fast-break points and outscored the Cougars 36-22 in the paint.
The Pioneers will head to the road for the first time this season when they visit North Greenville on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. The Trailblazers opened the season with Regional Challenge losses at home to Augusta (64-52) and Newberry (60-52) this weekend.
