Box Score By Jim O'Hara

ROME, Ga. – Twice they put together runs to keep themselves in the game.

But the third and last surge by the Shorter Lady Hawks came up short when visiting Columbus State handed Shorter a 68-65 defeat in a non-conference game between the two NCAA Division II programs that was the nightcap of the Lady Hawks' annual Cancer Awareness Classic.

The setback evens Shorter's record to 1-1 in the still-young season, as the Lady Hawks now turn their attention to this weekend's appearance in the North Georgia Nighthawk Classic in Dahlonega where they'll face Georgia College on Friday night and host North Georgia on Saturday.

"Our kids played really hard and kept battling," Shorter head coach Vic Mitchell said after the game, one that saw the Lady Cougars hold on to the lead from the outset and fight off repeated comebacks by Shorter. "We can build on it. We just have to keep working."

Columbus State opened the game breaking out to its biggest lead of the night, 26-12, only to see the Lady Hawks quickly close the gap as Shorter went on an 11-0 run to pull to within three, 26-23, with less than five minutes remaining in the opening half.

The Lady Cougars eventually took a 31-27 advantage into the locker room at the half, then started the final 20 minutes of play establishing another double-digit lead when they found themselves with a 41-30 edge with just under 16 minutes to go.

That's when Shorter mounted another run, reeling off a 10-2 run to make it a three-point contest, 43-40, when Lynette Harris capped the rally with a layup at the midway point of the final half.

The Lady Cougars, however, refused to break as the Lady Hawks continued to apply the pressure and put themselves in a position to pull off the comeback.

After Shaundrika Mann gave Shorter a field goal after an offensive rebound that left the Lady Hawks down by three, 66-63, with 18.9 seconds to go and Columbus State missed the front end of a one-and-one situation at the foul line, Ieshia Alexander made it a one point game when she scored inside with 10.6 second remaining.

The Lady Cougars responded to put the margin back to three when Kayla Richard hit both ends of a one-and-one attempt with 9.4 seconds left to play, sewing up the win as the Lady Hawks saw a three-point try to tie the game in the final seconds miss its mark.

Karisma Boykin led Shorter, which hit just 35 percent of its shots, with a game-high 23 points while Alexander added 20 points and Harris finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Chatil Bradford paced Columbus State (2-0) with 22 points as the Lady Cougars ended the night sinking 48 percent of their shots from the floor.

In the opener of the classic, the Armuchee High Lady Indians defeated the Darlington Lady Tigers 67-52 in the season opener for both high school teams.

"I'd like to thank Armuchee and Darlington for being a part of this night," Mitchell said, "and playing for such a special cause."

Proceeds from the Classic will benefit the WBCA Play 4 Kay Foundation and the Floyd Breast Center.