Golden Tigers Use Overtime Surge to Defeat Columbia 80-68

Columbia, South Carolina- The Brenau basketball team rallied from a thirteen-point deficit to send the game to overtime and then outscored Columbia (SC) College 18-6 in the overtime period to earn an 80-68 win in an Appalachian Athletic Conference game on Saturday.

In a rousing first quarter, both teams came out firing as the Golden Tigers and Koalas traded baskets throughout the period to a 16-15 score. Columbia seized control of the half, closing with a 5-0 run in the last two minutes of the second quarter to take a 31-26 lead into intermission.

Over the first four minutes of the third quarter, the host Koalas opened with a thirteen-point run to extend their lead to 44-31. However, Brenau answered as a Jael Flinn block led to an Anna Gliatta layup to begin the run. After another Golden Tiger defensive stop, junior SG Bertolini found fellow junior Kristina Peach for back-to-back three pointers to cut the deficit to 46-40. The defense continued to shine in the quarter as junior Caylie Long stole an errant Koala pass and kicked the ball ahead to Bertolini, who joined the offensive surge with a three-pointer of her own to cut the deficit to only three points.. After a fourth consecutive defensive stop, Gliatta made a driving layup with just under a minute left to make the score 46-45 going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Columbia answered the Brenau rally with a 5-0 run, increasing the score to 52-47. However, Brenau made another comeback as Peach continued her hot scoring day by scoring five consecutive points to even the score at 52-52. Columbia again surged ahead by five points with just under four minutes to play until freshman Mariya Shields blocked a Koala drive and Gliatta nailed a transition three-pointer to cut the deficit to 57-55. Over the next three minutes, Brenau shot a perfect 5-5 from the foul line to take a 60-59 lead with 17 seconds remaining.

After a Brenau turnover, Columbia's Anaya Muhammed made a corner three-pointer with six seconds remaining to take a 62-60 lead. Brenau's Caylie Long was fouled on the ensuing drive and made two free throws to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, sophomore Ashanti Bowers scored a driving layup off the opening tip, and the squad shot a dominant 75% from the floor to cruise to victory.

Peach led all scorers with 29 points on 7-13 shooting, including 5-9 from deep and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Long posted 19 points, while Gliatta had a solid all-around performance by adding 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 assists.  

Makiah Thompson led Columbia with 18 points. 

Brenau (7-7 overall, 2-5 AAC) takes a break for the holidays and will return to the court on December 30th with an exhibition against NCAA D2 University of North Georgia, then return to

Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) competition on January 3rd, when the squad hosts Milligan (Tenn.) University at 2 pm.