AMERICUS, Ga. – The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team traveled to Georgia Southwestern (GSW) Monday and took down the Hurricanes 66-60 in its ninth road victory of the season.

UNG is now 22-2 (12-2 Peach Belt) on the year and 9-0 on the road. The Nighthawks are 22-2 through 24 games for the first time since 2002. In that 2002 season the team finished 32-4 and went to the NAIA National Quarterfinals.

This season, UNG has its sights set on a PBC Championship as the Nighthawks currently sit in first place with a one-game lead over Columbus State as four games remain on the regular season schedule.

Monday's win was an impactful one for UNG as the Nighthawks held off a GSW team that currently possess the top two scorers in the conference in Destiny Garrett (18.8 points per game) and Ndidiamaka Ndukwe (18.6 points). 

UNG held both players below their season average with an outstanding defensive effort as Garrett only reached 17 points while Ndukwe was limited to just eight.

The Nighthawks were led by graduate guard Caroline Martin who dropped a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Martin was 6-for-16 from the floor while knocking down three triples and going 8-for-9 at the free throw line.

Current PBC Player of the Week Emily Trushel had another good night with 13 points and six rebounds. Trushel was coming off a career-high 33 points on Saturday against USC Beaufort for which she was awarded the conference's weekly honor on Monday.

Senior guard Ansley Hall reached double figures for the 12th time this season with 10 points and a team-high seven assists. Hall leads UNG with an average of 4.5 assists per game but Monday marked her third straight game with six or more assists and her eighth such performance this year. In the last three games, Hall is averaging 7.0 helpers per contest.

It was arguably the best game of the season for sophomore forward Ava McGlockton against the Hurricanes. McGlockton scored a season-high 12 points while grabbing six rebounds off the bench for UNG.

The Nighthawks struggled offensively in the first quarter shooting just 4-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-6 from downtown. GSW led 15-11 after the first 10 minutes.

UNG settled into a rhythm in the second quarter as it out-scored the Hurricanes 19-11 to lead 30-26 at the break. GSW led by seven at one point in the quarter before the Nighthawks closed the half on a 16-5 scoring run.

After grabbing the lead before halftime, UNG would not relinquish it for the rest of the game.

The Hurricanes did make things interesting in the fourth quarter. After trailing by 13 points with 6:01 to play, GSW rallied back to make it a three-point game with 22 seconds to go. However, Trushel went 3-for-4 at the line in the closing stages of the game as UNG earned a stop on defense to seal the win.

With Monday's game having been a rescheduled meeting after the original matchup was postponed due to a weather storm, now the Nighthawks will once again get ready to face the Hurricanes for the second time in three days.

The home rematch at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m.