GREENSBORO, N.C. – Averett University women's basketball gave it its all in a hard-nosed, scrappy battle at Guilford College, but came up short after the Quakers broke away in the fourth quarter, defeating the Cougars 78-53 on Wednesday night.
Recently moved to a 5 p.m. start for inclement weather purposes, Guilford was undeterred by such changes, shooting out to a 12-0 lead in the span of five minutes, before newcoming star
DaiShaundria Giggetts exploded for three quick points; a layup, and her 76th steal of the campaign to cut the Quakers' lead to nine.
Guilford's steady defensive play, with constant pressure towards Averett, forced the visitors into four turnovers over the last three-plus minutes of the first, but the Cougars hung around, only trailing by a field goal in this stretch. Switching quarters, the home team's amassed start was good to total an 11-point lead, 21-10, heading into the second.
The Cougars put Guilford into more trouble, coming out by sinking two straight 3-pointers, to chip into the Quakers' lead, from the likes of spot-up shooter
Emma Jones and
Zariia America. At one point, Guilford only led by just six points after Giggetts made a layup to make the score 24-18 in the Quakers' favor.
The two squads traded blows, with Averett seemingly matching Guilford's pace. With help from Giggetts, now up to a game-high 13 points, the Cougars got in within seven points at 34-27,but reliable free throw shooter Julianna Walter got to the line, and sunk a pair from the charity stripe to raise Guilford's lead to 36-27 at the half.
With Giggetts' aforementioned points, she also added immensely to her steal total on the season, now up to 80 with five just in the first half alone.
The top two teams in the ODAC in terms of opponent turnovers forced per game showed their defensive skills in full, combining for 37 through 20 minutes of action.
The Cougars squeaked out a tough 8-4 run against their counterparts midway through the third, as Giggetts' and-one conversion, her 18th point scored, cut even more into their deficit, only trailing 40-36.
A barnburner ensued between the Cougars and Quakers for the rest of the quarter, totaling 26 points in five minutes. Guilford came out of it with the larger lead, however, scoring 17 of those points, including 10 from Courtney McMillan to pilot a 57-45 advantage going into the last quarter.
The Quakers commanded the last period, as Averett's hard-fought tug-of-war battle relented. Guilford outscored the Cougars 21-8 over the last 10 minutes, and took the 78-53 decider.
Giggetts had a solid showing after the first half, finishing her 11th game this season with 15 or more points, reaching 18 after the buzzer. The freshman also added on six rebounds to go along with five steals.
Jaa Brown tied for a game-high eight boards along with Guilford's Anna Giannopoulou.
Across the team, Averett made five threes and limited the Quakers to just two made, tied for their lowest in 2024-25. The Cougars' second-ranked statistic within the conference in turnovers forced per game accounted for 31 takeaways from the Quakers.
Averett returns back home to the Grant Center for its last home contest of the season, on Senior Day. The Cougars host Virginia Wesleyan University on Saturday, Feb. 12, with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
