DAHLONEGA – Niyah Lutz scored a season-high 25 points, but the offensive output was not enough to pull the No. 19 University of North Georgia women's basketball out of their three-game losing skid after their 77-74 Peach Belt Conference loss to USC Aiken in Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.
Josie Earnhardt helped Lutz pull the Nighthawks back in it, with both coming alive from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Lutz and Earnhardt finished first and second in scoring for North Georgia, combining for 40 of the 74 UNG points.
Caroline Martin finished as the other Nighthawk in double digit scoring ending with 11 points.
UNG moves to 14-5 overall, and 6-4 in Peach Belt Conference play. It is the first three-game losing streak for the program since the 2014-2015 season.
Key Moments
- A 12-2 run for USC Aiken (12-8, 6-4 PBC) helped the Pacers grab a 54-45 lead with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers outscored UNG 23-13 in the quarter, leading 59-47 at the end of the third.
- Lutz and Earnhardt accounted for the first 14 points for UNG in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to six after falling behind by 14 to begin the fourth.
- After adding eight more points in the fourth, a Lutz layup with 54 seconds left tied the game at 73. The layup was Lutz's 13th point of the fourth quarter.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will look to kick their three-game slump with a road matchup at Augusta (12-8, 5-5 PBC) on Wednesday (Feb 1). The Jaguars are coming off a 77-67 loss to Clayton State on Saturday (Jan. 28). It will be the 35th meeting between the two teams, with UNG leading the series 27-17.
