The University of Georgia women’s basketball team outscored Columbia 27-9 in the fourth quarter to pick up its third-straight victory of the season, 73-56, Monday morning at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championships.
Georgia was paced once again by senior forward Zoesha Smith, who scored 18 points off 8-of-11 shooting to go along with seven boards. Fifth year senior guard Chloe Chapman scored 15, with a perfect 3-for-3 clip from behind the arc. Fellow fifth year player Javyn Nicholson added 17 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, Georgia shot a season-high 52 percent from the field and out rebounded the Lions 44-24. The Lady Bulldogs improve to 4-1 on the season, while Columbia — last year’s Ivy League Champion — falls to 2-3.
Georgia shot a blistering 60 percent from the field in the first half to take a commanding 37-29 lead into the break. Columbia stayed in the game thanks to 3-point shooting. The Lions knocked in 11 shots from behind the arc as Lion guard Riley Weiss hit a pair of 3-pointers to end each quarter to cut the halftime advantage to eight.
The Lions went four minutes without a basket in the third quarter, but then got as close as five — 44-39 — before eventually taking the lead with just over minute remaining in the third.
That’s when Georgia exploded on a 14-0 run and outpaced Columbia, 27-9, in the final frame.
Georgia now plays Purdue at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday in the second game of the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championships.