AUGUSTA, Ga. – For the fifth time in program history the UNG women's basketball team are Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Champions after clinching at least a share of the conference title with a 64-51 road win against Augusta on Saturday. The No. 6 Nighthawks (24-2, 14-2 Peach Belt) never trailed against the Jaguars (18-8, 10-6 Peach Belt) in their 13-point victory on Saturday.
UNG has recorded a whopping 17 double-digit wins this season, 10 of which have come in conference play. In their 14 PBC wins this season the Nighthawks have beat their conference opponents by an average of 16.5 points per game. Their season-long average margin of victory of 14.2 points leads the conference and is a shocking 5.5 points per game better than the next closest team.
While already clinching a share of the regular season crown, UNG can win the outright title on the road Wednesday against USC Aiken with a win. A win would secure the No. 1 seed in the PBC Tournament and give the Nighthawks hosting rights in the postseason.
Graduate guard
Caroline Martin led the way for UNG in the title-clinching victory on Saturday. She dropped a game-high 25 points as she canned four three-pointers and snagged six rebounds.
With 41 combined points in her last two games, Martin ascended the North Georgia record book as her 1,691 career points rank third in the NCAA Division II era (2005) in program history. She recently passed Stephanie Huffman who recorded 1,652 points from 2011-2015.
Saturday marked Martin's 12th 20-point game this season and her sixth consecutive double-digit scoring performance.
Freshman guard
Averie Jones recorded 15 points and five boards against Augusta as she went 4-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. The outing marked Jones' 15th game with 10 or more points this season.
As noted on X/Twitter, Jones now ranks second among Nighthawk freshmen since 2010 with 284 points so far in her first collegiate season. Only current assistant coach
Julianne Sutton (2018 - 318 points) ranks ahead of the Jones in first-year scoring. Sutton went on to lead UNG to five NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four run in 2022. She currently stands as the top scorer in the DII era in program history.
The Nighthawks also received a highlight performance from sophomore forward
Kendall Emener. Despite only attempting one shot in her 20 minutes of action, Emener was one of the team's biggest contributor's Saturday with game-highs of 10 rebounds and four assists.
All season long it has been easy to highlight UNG's success on the offensive side of the ball. However, in the team's active six-game win streak it has been the defense that has propelled the Nighthawks to dominant victories.
Since losing its second game of the season to Georgia College on Feb. 5, UNG has held its opponents to an average of 56.3 points per game. The opposition is shooting just 38 percent from the floor and 20.7 percent from deep in that stretch. The Nighthawks have forced 17.3 turnovers per contest during the win streak as they simply shut down the offense of their foes.
On Saturday, Augusta recorded a stark two assists on 20 made field goals. That's a season-low for any opponent against UNG this season and the seventh time the opposition has recorded single-digit assists in a game.
What is even more impressive about the defense during the win streak is that it has stifled some of the top offenses in the league. Four of UNG's six defensive performances have come against teams in the top five in scoring in the PBC.
The Nighthawks will look for another strong defensive outing and a win against USC Aiken on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 26. A victory would give UNG the outright conference title. It would mark the 11th conference championship in program history, all of which have come under the direction of head coach
Buffie Burson. Tip off on Wednesday is set for 5:30 p.m.
