Albany State women rout Paine

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Albany State women’s basketball team shot a blistering 66 percent from the field and scored 44 points in the paint to defeat Paine College 88-68 in its regular-season finale on Saturday.

ASU avenged an earlier 68-59 loss to the Lady Lions on Jan. 14.

With the win, the Lady Rams close out the regular season with a 7-19 overall record and 6-10 SIAC mark. ASU has won five out of its last six games. Paine finishes the regular season at 11-16, 5-10.

Albany State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter to ignite an eventual double-digit advantage over the home team. A pair of free throws by Uche Ibebunjo gave ASU a 24-6 edge at the 2:03 mark. The Lady Rams led 28-12 at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, Albany State continued to be hot, but Paine was also able to generate some offense. ASU still outscored the Lady Lions 25-20 to take a 53-32 lead at halftime.

Paine used the third period to cut its deficit. Paine outscored the Lady Rams 25-16 to trim the visitors’ lead to 69-57 heading into the final turn. However, Albany State used a 19-11 run in the fourth to put the Lady Lions away for good.

Kayla Green led Albany State with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Elesha Foster scored 19 points, while Ashley Johnson netted 12 points. Shantrell Holland added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Zuri Frost tallied eight points and nine assists.

The Lady Rams shot 6-of-10 (60 percent) from 3-point range and 12-of-20 (60 percent) from the free throw line.

With the closing of the regular season, Albany State will now set its sights on competing for the 2017 conference title. The Lady Rams will participate in the upcoming SIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament that will be held at Bill Harris Arena Feb. 27-March 4.