DAHLONEGA — The top-15 matchup did not disappoint as the No. 13 University of North Georgia women's basketball team won an instant classic over No. 3 Lander in the latest chapter of the rivalry, 69-68, Saturday afternoon inside the UNG Convocation Center.
The Nighthawks jumped out to a 10-0 advantage early on and held on to the lead for much of the contest. At one point, UNG held a 34-20 lead midway through the second quarter before the Bearcats started to battle back.
Turning up the heat defensively, Lander inched back before finally taking their first lead of the contest with 5:16 to play at 61-60. With the game going back and forth for the final five minutes, the Bearcats, leading 68-64, surrendered the last five points to North Georgia, putting a seventh straight win on the board for UNG.
NOTES
- Despite fouling out of the game, Julianne Sutton led UNG in the points column, netting 19 points. Caroline Martin added 14, 12 of which came from the charity stripe where she finished the day perfect. Kayla Massop was a rebound short of a double-double off the bench, tallying 11 points and nine boards.
- UNG hit 20 out of their 22 made free throws with both misses coming in the final second of the game.
- The Nighthawks turned 20 Bearcat turnovers into 20 points.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will hit the road for the first time in 2022 with a Wednesday evening trot down to Clayton State. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
