Lady Cougars Force Overtime, Win Final Regular Season Game at Montevallo

Montevallo, Ala. -- Columbus State freshman Kelsey Weynand took a pass from Monique Jefferson with four seconds left in regulation on Saturday at Montevallo and drained her third three-pointer of the game to knot the score at 53 and force overtime at Montevallo. CSU went on to defeat the Falcons 63-53 to finish the regular season on a high note.

CSU (17-10, 11-6) will now get set to take on Clayton State on Tuesday, March 2, in the Peach Belt Conference quarterfinal. The Lakers finished as the #2 seed in the PBC West Division and will host Tuesday's quarterfinal game at 7 PM in Morrow. CSU, who defeated Clayton State on the road just over a week ago, enters the game as the #3 seed in the division. The winner of the contest will advance to next weekend's PBC Championships in Aiken, S.C.

Weynand's big shot breathed life into a CSU team whose offense had been relatively stagnant for the entire game. The Lady Cougars managed to shoot just 32 percent in the first half and finished at just 34 percent overall on the day. The defense, however, more than picked up the slack, especially in the extra frame. CSU held the Falcons scoreless in the five-minute overtime period and kept the hosts at just 30 percent from the floor on the day.

The Lady Cougars held the lead for virtually the entire second half and led by seven, 47-40, after a Turelle Jones free-throw with 3:27 left. Montevallo chipped away and used a 10-1 run in the final three minutes to take the lead. A three-point play by Alicia Lewis gave the Falcons their first lead of the second half with 35 seconds left, and then two Alex Sanabria free-throws with 14 seconds left had UM primed for a big win. Weynand and the Lady Cougars dashed those hopes in the final seconds.

CSU led 25-20 at the half, erasing a dismal start. The Lady Cougars hit just three field goals in the game's first 11 minutes with two of those being Weynand three-pointers. Montevallo led 18-11 with 9:01 to play in the half, but CSU closed the half with a 14-3 run.

Phebe Smith, held to just 4-11 from the floor, hit nine of 12 free-throw attempts to finish as the game's high scorer with 17 points. She posted yet another double-double as she added 12 rebounds. Nakita Holt and Turelle Jones added 10 points each and Weynand finished with nine. The two teams were even in rebounds with 43 apiece.

Montevallo (14-13, 7-10) got 13 points from Sanabria and 12 from Manal Cali to lead its offense. Manal also grabbed 11 rebounds.