DAHLONEGA - After leading by 13 at halftime and seeing that lead disappear, the No. 5 University of North Georgia women's basketball team weren't ready to see their season come to a close, rallying back and scoring with 20 seconds left on the clock to take the lead and beat Lander by a 59-57 score Monday night in the Southeast Regional Championship.
North Georgia came out with the early advantage in a back-and-forth first quarter before stretching the lead out to as many as 14 prior to halftime. Lander battled back, outscoring the Nighthawks 25-7 in the third quarter to take a five point lead into the final quarter.
The Bearcats led nearly the entire fourth quarter, but UNG fought back, going on a 7-0 run over the last three minutes, including seeing
Julianne Sutton get a put back layup with 20 seconds left to take the lead. After hitting a pair of free throws, North Georgia had to defend a good look from three for the Bearcats at the buzzer to advance to the second Elite Eight in program history.
NOTES
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Jamari McDavid was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after a team high 20 points in the championship game. She averaged 19.3 points per contest in the tournament. Sutton was also named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing Monday with a third straight double-double, going for 17 points and 11 rebounds.
- This was the fourth straight regional final that North Georgia has been in and the third straight against Lander.
- UNG finishes the season with a home record of 18-1.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will play in the Elite Eight Monday against a team to be named after the final eight are reseeded Tuesday morning. Stay tuned to UNGAthletics.com for all of the updates as they are released.
