YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Young Harris College outscored Columbus State University by 14 points in the second quarter as the Mountain Lions upset  the No. 23-ranked Cougars 55-51 in a Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game Sunday (Jan. 24) afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.
                       
Young Harris snapped its seven game losing streak as the Mountain Lions improved to 8-9 overall and to 3-7 in the league while the Cougars slipped to 13-4 and 7-3. The Mountain Lions travel to Milledgeville, Georgia, Wednesday (Jan. 27) for a 5:30 p.m. league contest against Georgia College.
 
Columbus State jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead on a layup by Ashley Johnson with 6:59 left in the first quarter. The Mountain Lions got within five points (15-10) at the end of the first quarter after a jumper in the paint from Briana Bell.
 
Michelle Mitchell hit a jumper with 5:58 before halftime to give the Cougars a 21-15 lead; however, the Mountain Lions ended the second quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 30-21 lead on two free throws by Meredith Tarver with 39 seconds left before halftime. Senior Keta Robinette jump started the decisive rally with three-pointers from the senior on three consecutive possessions to give the Mountain Lions a 24-21 lead with 3:53 left.
 
"I want to start by saying how happy I am for Keta," said YHC head coach Matt Stearsman. "She is a fifth-year senior who has a degree and didn't have to come back and play, but she did. To go in there today and go 4-for-4 from three was huge and I'm beyond thrilled for her. I have never wavered in my confidence in this team and they haven't wavered either, they believed we could win. We played extremely well today and I'm very proud of this team. We have struggled this month, but it hasn't been for a lack of effort."
 
Columbus State got within a point at 42-41 on a Mitchell layup with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter, but the Mountain Lions thwarted the rally as Sara Jorgensen hit a three of her own to put Young Harris up 45-41 two minutes later. YHC opened up an eight-point lead (50-42) on two Tarver free throws and another three-pointer from Robinette, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from long distance. As a team, the Mountain Lions made seven of their 11 attempts from three-point range (63.6 percent).
 
The closest the Cougars would get the rest of the game was four points.
 
Tarver led the Mountain Lions with 16 points while Robinette tossed in 11 more. Jenny Vernet recorded a double double with 14 rebounds and 11 points to go along with three blocked shots. Jorgensen and Jasmine Knight each scored seven points while Knight added six assists and four steals.

Mitchell led the Cougars with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Gabby Williams added 10 points and seven assists. Ashley Asouzu grabbed 10 rebounds.