COLUMBUS, Ga. – Zoe Piller and Jaclyn Jarnot were nearly unstoppable on Friday as both UWF standouts posted double-doubles, but the Argonauts dropped a 77-74 non-conference decision to Columbus State at the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center.
Piller had game-highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds with 18 and eight in the second half, while Jarnot finished with 18 points and 10 boards. With her layup in the first minute of play, Jarnot went over 1,000 points for her career. She transferred to UWF prior to last season with 491 points in three years at North Dakota and has scored 526 in 31 games for the Argonauts.
On Friday, UWF (2-4) shot 44 percent and made five 3-pointers while outrebounding CSU 44-30.
Haylee Luttrell made four of those triples on her way to 14 points. Jayden Langford had a career-game, posting new personal bests of 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Samford transfer also was fouled eight times by the Lady Cougars.
"I thought our determination and drive was here tonight," UWF head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "We had opportunities. I thought our press was good and our rebounding was phenomenal. That helped us stay in the game and not letting them get second chance points. The game was close because we played our way back into to it the times we got down big."
UWF was the aggressor for much of the game, including in the opening five minutes while building a 11-6 lead on 5-of-9 shooting. The Lady Cougars battled back and took a 23-20 edge at the end of the first.
CSU built a 9-point advantage just over two minutes into the second period before UWF got a Langford bucket before the half to trim the deficit to 45-39. Piller did not play the final 8:36 while on the bench with foul trouble.
She was dominating in the second half, making 8-of-10 from the floor while drawing three fouls. CSU used an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 64-51 with 2:10 left in the third. The lead stayed between 5-9 points in the fourth before UWF scored five-straight to get within 77-74 with 6.0 seconds on the clock. Jennifer Andrew stole the in bounds pass near midcourt and passed the ball to Langford whose three from near the top of the key was short and the Argos fell by three.
CSU (5-1) shot 43 percent and had four players score in double figures, led by Olonna Rawls with 19 points.
The Lady Cougars came in forcing 26.2 turnovers per game but only benefited from 14 by the Argos. UWF outscored CSU 42-24 in the paint and used 10 offensive rebounds to finish with a 10-3 edge in second chance points.
UWF will return to Gulf South Conference play on Sunday at West Georgia (3-4). Tip-off at the UWG Coliseum in Carrollton, Georgia is set for 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
