The Georgia Gwinnett College women's basketball team continued its winning ways to a season-best four straight games with a convincing 61-44 victory against Haskell Indian Nations University (Kansas) on Saturday afternoon. The win closed out the team's play in the Continental Athletic Conference Classic, being hosted by Florida College in Temple Terrace, Florida.

The Grizzlies (11-6) relied on a strong defensive effort, holding Haskell Indian Nations to 25.8 percent shooting and keeping the Fighting Indians from making a field goal for long periods during the midway point of the game's first three quarters.

Meanwhile, GGC closed the first quarter on a 7-0 offensive run to take a 15-9 lead. Freshman Christen Collins made a basket with 2:07 remaining in the period before junior Shayla Sandiford connected on another jump shot on the following possession. Collins then followed with a 3-point field goal to cap the opening 10 minutes.

The team maintained the strong play by scoring nine straight points that stretched the lead to 24-9 with 5:28 remaining in the first half. The stretch started with junior Maddie Presha hitting a basket to give GGC a 22-9 advantage at the 7:46 mark of the second quarter. Classmate Nylaa Fuller added another made jump shot to close the team's 16-0 run across the first and second quarters.

GGC used a similar offensive run, this time by a 14-0 margin, across the first and second quarters to defeat Washington Adventist University (Maryland) 71-47 on Friday.

The Grizzlies sealed the victory by outscoring Haskell Indian Nations (5-15), the defending CAC tournament champion, by a 14-3 margin during the third quarter to take a commanding 49-21 lead. GGC held the opposition scoreless until the 1:27 mark of the stanza.

Collins led the Grizzlies with a game-high 23 points and had four steals. Sandiford came off the bench to score eight points, while junior Peyton Hearvey added seven points and 10 rebounds. Fuller rounded out the team's balanced offensive effort with seven points and eight rebounds.
 
Coach's Corner
"I'm proud of the players' effort. They were locked in during preparation and fully committed to facing the CAC defending champions. Christen (Collins) had a great game and her teammates did a great job of putting her in position to score against a very strong team. We need to continue to build off this momentum built since conference play has started," said Head Coach Tory Wooley.
 
Turning Point
The Grizzlies' strong play managed to build a double-digit lead in the second quarter and they never surrendered that comfortable margin against the defending CAC tournament champion. Sixteen straight points for GGC came across the first and second quarters. The team then put the game out of reach by holding the Fighting Indians scoreless for the first eight minutes of the third quarter – a period when GGC outscored the opposition by a 14-3 margin.
 
Inside The Numbers

• Haskell Indian Nations was held to 25.8 percent shooting
• Freshman Christen Collins scored a game-high 23 points in the victory
• The Grizzlies outscored Haskell Indian Nations by a 21-6 margin at the free throw line
• GGC held a 48-44 rebounding edge

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 11-6 on the season; Haskell Indian Nations drops to 5-15 this winter
• Georgia Gwinnett College and Haskell Indian Nations are members of the Continental Athletic Conference, and the Fighting Indians are the defending CAC tournament champions
• The Grizzlies have won all three games against conference opponents this season
• GGC has won a season-best four straight games

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to Morris College on Wednesday, January 14, in Sumter, South Carolina, starting at 5:30 p.m.