DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Barton women's basketball team (28-2), ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II, saw its season come to a close with a 59-55 loss to Georgia Southwestern (23-6) Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center on the campus of North Georgia in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament.
Ava Jones (Carencro, La.) led the Hurricanes with 19 points as Georgia Southwestern rallied from a 24-8 deficit at the end of the first period to snap the Bulldogs' 22-game winning streak and move on to the regional semifinals on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Georgia Southwestern will now play the winner of seventh-seeded Catawba (23-6) and second-seeded Lander (24-5).
Barton senior center
Shanika Peterkin (Virginia Beach, Va.) and senior forward
Jami Tham (Arlington, Va.) both scored 18 points for the Bulldogs, who couldn't maintain their advantage after the first period and shot just 32 percent (19-of-59) for the contest and turned the ball over 26 times in the losing effort.
Tham and Peterkin grabbed 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively, for double-doubles while Peterkin also blocked four shots in the setback.
With the score tied at 47 with just under four minutes left in the game, Lex Chatman (Decatur, Ga.) hit what would be the game-winning field goal. Barton had a chance to tie the game but a three-point attempt with 14 seconds left rimmed out and a pair of free throws by Jones iced the game for the Hurricanes.
Georgia Southwestern was also 17-of-21 from the free throw line spearheaded by Jones' nine-of-10 performance. Barton, the 2021-22 Conference Carolinas Regular Season and Tournament Champions, were making its fourth postseason appearance in its last five seasons.
