BLUFFTON, S.C. – The No. 5 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team dominated USC Beaufort (USCB) in an 83-62 road win Saturday afternoon. The Nighthawks (15-1, 5-1 Peach Belt) remain unbeaten on the road this season with a 5-0 record away from home so far.

The win is UNG's fifth of the season by 20 or more points. The Nighthawks have defeated three conference opponents by 21 or more points this season and four of their five league wins have come by double digits.

Graduate guard Caroline Martin had one of her best performances of the year with a season-high 28 points on 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) shooting from the floor and a 2-for-4 mark from three-point range. Martin's pair of made threes gave her 158 makes from downtown in her career which puts her in a tie for the fifth most in a career in the NCAA Division II era (2005) of UNG women's basketball history. Martin is now tied with Jordan Livesay who played for the Nighthawks from 2013-2017. 

Martin also contributed a team-high eight rebounds to tie her season high in the category. She did a little bit of everything with three rebounds and four steals defensively.

UNG had three different players with 14 or more points in the game as graduate forward Emily Trushel had 14 points with seven rebounds and two assists. Freshman guard Averie Jones followed up her 28-point outing on Wednesday against Lander with a 14-point performance in Bluffton. Jones knocked down three triples in Saturday's victory. The rookie has gone 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from deep in the last two games.

Senior guard Ansley Hall contributed to the Nighthawks' fifth 80-plus point performance as she tied a season-high nine assists in the win. Hall has now dished out five or more assists in six different games this year. She leads UNG with an average of 4.4 assists per game which also ranks second in the conference.

UNG jumped out to a quick lead with a solid offensive performance in the first quarter. The Nighthawks went 7-for-15 in the first quarter to lead 23-17 after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, UNG built on its lead with another efficient quarter on offense. The Nighthawks went 9-for-18 from the floor and out-scored the Sand Sharks 20-11 in the frame to lead 43-28 at halftime.

Graduate guard Caroline Martin had a big first half in the win. She knocked down four shots from the floor including a three-pointer to conclude the half with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. 

The Sand Sharks had a better third quarter and kept the deficit at 15 points and gave themselves a chance at a comeback in the fourth quarter. 

However, UNG's offense continued to score in the final quarter going 9-for-15 from the floor and 3-of-7 from downtown to close out the 23-point victory. 

The Nighthawks were lights out from the floor on Saturday going 34-of-65 (52.3 percent) as a team. That mark is UNG's second best shooting performance from the floor this season. On defense the Nighthawks had another big game forcing 23 turnovers, 12 of which came in the form of a steal. 12 steals is also the second most UNG has collected this season. The Nighthawks have recorded double digit steals in seven different outings this year. 

With the win, UNG moves to 5-1 in conference play this season and sits in a tie for first place in the league with Columbus State. 

The Nighthawks will travel to Americus, Ga. to take on Georgia Southwestern for their next game. Tip off against the Hurricanes on Wednesday, Jan. 22 is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.