COCHRAN, Ga. – The Auburn Montgomery women's basketball team overcame a 13-point halftime deficit at Middle Georgia State on Monday evening, holding a five-point lead with under four minutes remaining in the contest but could not escape Morris Gym with a win as a Knights' layup with four seconds left gave the hosts a 63-62 victory.
 
NOTES
• AUM falls to 9-18 on the season.
• Middle Georgia State improves to 7-19.
• It's the second-straight season AUM has split a home-and-home series against Middle Georgia State, with both sides winning at home.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Junior guard/forward Evelina Avleeva fell one rebound shy of her second-straight double-double outing and fifth of the season with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds while adding four assists and two steals.
• Redshirt-sophomore center Bailee Wolfe scored a career-high 10 points with a personal-best nine rebounds.
• For Middle Georgia, Ilyn Spann scored 20 points with eight assists while TyAsia Grayer pulled down 14 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM opened the contest on a 7-0 run, with redshirt senior guard Kyla Rooks and Wolfe scoring back-to-back jumpers followed by a triple from Avleeva. The hosts knotted up the score with a 10-3 spree, adding a triple before the end of the quarter to hold a 13-10 advantage
• Middle Georgia carried the momentum into the second quarter, scoring the opening basket before a pair of Avleeva free throws ended the run and made it a one-possession contest at 15-12. MGA extended its lead on back-to-back triples, sandwiching a basket from Avleeva, to make it 21-14. AUM brought it down to five on a jumper from sophomore guard Aaliyah Milord, only for a 6-0 Middle Georgia run creating a double-digit separation at 27-16. AUM cut the deficit down to as much as six before halftime at 30-24, but a 7-0 run to end the half made it 37-24.
• Facing a game-high 15-point separation at 39-24 after a pair of Knights' free throws to start the second half, AUM went on an 11-4 run to bring the gap down to single-digits at 43-35. The hosts brought it back up to 10 off a layup, but a 9-0 run for the Warhawks to end the quarter made it a one-point game going into the fourth at 45-44.
• Middle Georgia added to their lead with a basket to start the final stanza before a 9-2 AUM rally propelled the Warhawks to a 53-49 advantage. AUM led by as many as five in the frame, creating a 58-53 lead with 3:36 remaining in the contest off a triple from senior guard Shanna Strain only for an 8-2 run by the hosts giving them a 61-60 edge with 24 ticks remaining. AUM flipped the one-point lead off a jump shot from freshman guard Makaylla Bullard with nine seconds left, but a MGA layup with four seconds gave them the one-point victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks converted on 22-70 shots, going 7-23 from three-point territory and 11-15 from the free throw line.
• MGA went 23-71 from the field, 8-20 from beyond the arc and 9-11 from the free-throw line.
• Middle Georgia held a 48-37 advantage in rebounds.
• AUM scored 26 points in the pant versus 20 for the Knights
• AUM committed 12 turnovers, resulting in eight MGA points. The hosts committed 13 turnovers, leading to nine points.
• AUM got 14 points off the bench, Middle Georgia got two.
• AUM recorded six steals with a block while MGA stole the ball five times with no blocks.
 
QUOTING THE COACH
"It's a very disappointing loss," head coach Dan Davis said. "Middle Georgia is a tough place to play, coach Anderson always has his team ready to play and compete and tonight they wanted the win more than us. It's a shame to see because Saturday was one of our best games of the season, so to turn around and start this game off with one of the worst halves we have played all season is frustrating. We were not following the scouting report and were making mental mistakes on both ends of the court in the first half. Give the girls credit they recovered and had a great third quarter and even took the lead in the fourth, but in the final minutes we could not finish some things on offense and more importantly could not get the stops we needed to on defense. They have to mature as a group and understand they control being ready to play everyday and every practice. You can never take an opponent lightly no matter what league they are in. We did not respect our opponent and it showed. We will regroup and be ready for West Georgia on Thursday." 
 
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team concludes the 2017-18 season on Thursday, Feb. 22 against West Georgia at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear white to the AUM Gymnasium, as it is the Warhawks' whiteout game.
 
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