AMERICUS, Ga. -- The Georgia Southwestern State University women's basketball team fell 76-70 to Albany State in the opener of the PBC/SIAC Challenge Friday in front of 284 at the Storm Dome.

How It Happened: The Lady Canes came out strong when Gabby Figgers opened the scoring with a three-pointer, the beginning of 12 straight points that forced Albany State head coach Robert Skinner to take a timeout. Amanda Melosky and Shanya Jones each scored seven points in the first quarter on 6-of-8 combined shooting from the floor to give GSW a 27-10 lead after the first 10 minutes.  

Georgia Southwestern enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 42-20 with 3:25 left in the first half when Figgers knocked down another shot from long range. That was the last basket of the quarter for GSW as the Lady Rams closed out the final three minutes with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 13 at the break.     

The Albany State run continued into the third quarter as they scored the first nine points of the half before Mariya Trimble scored with 6:51 remaining to make it a 44-38 lead for the Lady Canes. GSW looked to find the rhythm again when Kya Cochran drained a three-pointer with just over a minute left extending the lead back to 10, but Albany State scored the final five of the quarter to make it 53-48 heading into the fourth.

Albany State outrebounded GSW 36-25 overall and 13-7 on the offensive end, leading to second chance points for the Lady Rams that would ultimately make the difference. The Lady Canes could only manage 35.3 percent shooting from the floor in the final quarter and ASU made 7-of-8 free throws in the last minute to extend the lead out of reach.   

Who Stood Out: Mariya Trimble scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing five rebounds, four of them coming at the offensive end. Trimble also recorded three steals for the second time in as many games.  

Shanya Jones scored in double-figures for the second straight game, putting in 13 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals. Junior transfer Amanda Melosky scored 11 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists before fouling out.

Up Next: GSW finishes the PBC/SIAC Challenge at 7 p.m. Saturday against Fort Valley State inside the Storm Dome.