New Haven, Conn. - Setting out to prove that last season was no fluke, Georgian Court University took its first step to establishing itself as a perennial regional force as the Lions downed Southern Connecticut State University on the road, 85-80, Saturday night in the women's basketball season-opener for both programs.
In a contest that saw 14 lead changes and 10 stalemates, it would be the Lions (1-0) that would prevail as the royal-and-gold knocked off the host-Owls (0-1) for the first time in three overall meetings (first since 2015) between the non-conference east regional foes.
Coming out of intermission leading by one (45-44), SCSU soared with a 6-0 spurt to go ahead by seven 1:11 into the frame. Georgian Court countered by grounding the Owls with a 25-14 run of its own to close the session with a four-point cushion (69-65).
With the sweet scent of victory in the air, the Lions pounced by adding a 10-4 run to open the fourth, taking a seemingly solid ten-point advantage (79-69) with 5:32 remaining in regulation. Not going down without a fight, the Owls scratched out a final 11-4 sprint to cut its deficit to three (83-80) with only 0:45 left on the clock. A pair of successful free throws from
Tian Addison with six ticks to go cemented the signature season-starting triumph for Georgian Court.
Anyssa Fields, the reigning Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Year, picked up right where she left off as the now-sophomore netted a game-high 27 points (including five three-pointers) in her first 36 minutes of the year. The aforementioned Addison poured in 14 points of her own, including 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe.
Leighanna Lister, a vital force off the GCU bench, made the most of her 15 minutes with 12 points and a trio of rejections. Erica Aspajo, in her debut for the Lions, contributed 11 points.
Jessica Fressle (Gr.-Levittown, N.Y.) highlighted the SCSU stat sheet with a double-double performance consisting of 23 points (including 11-of-12 from the free throw line) and 15 boards.
Zoe Amalbert (Sr.-Nanuet, N.Y.) added 19 points and six helpers in the setback.
Georgian Court gets right back at it Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. as they take on the University of New Haven (1-0) on the second-and-final day of the SCSU Conference Challenge.
