Duhart's Three-Pointer Gives AASU 57-54 Win At Augusta State

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Senior guard Ashley Duhart's three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining gave the Armstrong Atlantic State women's basketball team a 57-54 Peach Belt Conference road victory over host Augusta State on Saturday evening in Augusta.

The Lady Pirates (10-2, 5-0 PBC) trailed for most of the contest, but took a late second-half lead thanks to Kelly Versluis, who made six straight field goal attempts at one point en route to 12 second-half points - her last giving AASU a 46-42 lead with 4:59 remaining. AASU kept ahold of the lead until Augusta State's Brittany Jarrard tied up the contest with two free throws, 54-54, with 26.3 seconds left.

After a time out, the Lady Pirates brought the ball up the court, and passed it around the perimeter until finding Duhart open for the game-winning three-pointer. AASU had hit just 3-of-18 threes (16.7 percent) beforehand and it was Duhart's first three-pointer of the game. Nicole Mealing's desperation three at the buzzer for Augusta State bounced off the rim and out, giving the Lady Pirates their fourth straight win.

Senior Lacey Willis led all scorers with 15 points, to go with a game-high 13 rebounds for the double-double. The Dublin, Ga., native converted on a fastbreak layup with 4:20 left in the second half that was her 1,000th career point at AASU - becoming just the 10th player in Lady Pirate basketball history to reach that plateau.

Versluis finished the game with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, to go with nine rebounds. Duhart wound up with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists on the night.

Augusta State (3-9, 1-4 PBC) was led by Jarrard's 12 points, Porsha White's double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, as well as Eboni Davis' double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Neither team shot the ball from the floor particularly well as the Lady Pirates were 24-of-65 for 36.9 percent, while Augusta State was 20-of-64 for 31.3 percent. The Lady Jaguars held a slim edge in rebounding, 45-44.

The Lady Pirates return to action on Wednesday, January 14, with a 5:30 p.m. Peach Belt Conference contest against GCSU at Alumni Arena. AASU's 5-0 start in the Peach Belt is tied for the best in school history with the 2002-03 squad, which also started 5-0 en route to a 17-2 record and a PBC title.