AUGUSTA, Ga. – Despite the hard fought effort by senior DeDe Cotten, the UNCP women's basketball team suffered its first loss in more than two weeks to host and Peach Belt Conference East Division rival Augusta State, 59-51, on Wednesday evening. 

Cotten matched her career-best 22 points as the leading scorer for the Lady Braves (8-9, 5-4 PBC), while junior Courtney Bolton added 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds. The Black and Gold shot 42.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the 3-point line as Cotten nailed all five 3-pointers for UNCP.  Augusta State (9-10, 4-7) matched UNCP in rebounding as each team collected 32. However, UNCP was more aggressive by grabbing 24 defensive rebounds, while the Lady Jaguars snatched 21.

UNCP took the early lead and eventually controlled an eight point advantage at the 9:47 mark, before Brittany White gave Augusta State the one-point lead with 5:13 left to play in the first half. Down by two points at the half, the Black and Gold returned from the locker room and used back-to-back shots to regain the lead. The possession of the lead changed five times throughout the match with the final occurrence in favor of the Lady Jaguars with 2:38 remaining in the game. 

With 2:02 on the clock, Cotten brought the Lady Braves to within one point, but Amber Peterson nailed a crucial 3-pointer to give the Lady Jaguars a two-possession lead. Augusta State sealed the victory with a jumper and two foul shots for the nine-point win.

Augusta State had three players in double-digit scoring with Peterson tallying 15 points. White and Marina Fox added 14 and 12 points, respectfully, while Becky Newhouse and Jemimah Ashby each pulled down seven rebounds. The Lady Jaguars committed six fewer turnovers than UNCP, but combined for 16 fouls compared to UNCP's 10. 

UNCP will proceed with road competition as the squad travels to Columbus, Ga., to face west division rival Columbus State (10-7, 5-3) on Saturday in the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center.