DAHLONEGA, Ga. | The University of North Georgia scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter as the Nighthawks recorded a 79-48 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball victory over its cross-mountain rival Young Harris College Monday (Jan. 30) evening at Memorial Hall.

The Nighthawks improved to 16-4 overall and to 8-3 in the conference, while the Mountain Lions fell to 7-11 and 3-8. Young Harris continues its road trip Wednesday (Feb. 1) with a 5:30 p.m. league contest at Georgia Southwestern State University.

North Georgia took a 19-12 lead after the first quarter before the Mountain Lions closed to within four points (23-19) on a three-pointer from the right side from Meredith Tarver with 7:55 to go before halftime. Tarver scored 16 of her 22 points in the first half.

The Nighthawks took control of the game on their next possession as Deana Blakinship got a putback to start a 16-0 run over the next four minutes. UNG held a 21-11 advantage on the glass over the Mountain Lions in the opening 20 minutes, including a 11-0 margin on the offensive boards.

North Georgia led 45-25 at the half and continued to extend its advantage in the second half, pushing the lead to as many as 37 points (73-36).

"They hit us in the mouth the first half and we never recovered," said YHC head coach Matt Stearsman. "We had a great workout this morning and I thought we were as prepared to play tonight as we had been all year, obviously we weren't. This one is on me because I thought we were ready and we weren't."

Kelsey Hutchins led the Nighthawks with 16 points and eight rebounds. while Mackenzie Darrah added 14 points and Amber Skidgel added 12. 

Sara Jorgensen, Jada Williams and Dyiesha Brown tallied six points apiece for the Mountain Lions, while Jenny Vernet collected seven rebounds.