DAHLONEGA – In front of a raucous home crowd at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center Saturday night, the No. 6 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team came up clutch with a 64-56 victory over fifth-seeded Columbus State (CSU) to advance to the Southeast Regional Championship game for the fourth time in program history and the third time in Dahlonega.

The Nighthawks will play for the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional title on Monday, March 17 as they are set to face No. 21 and second-seeded Coker from Lynn Cottrell Arena at 7 p.m.

In basketball, cliches are often dolled out like rose petals at a wedding, particularly in the postseason. Yes, March is madness, you have to make your free throws and turnovers can be a momentum killer. But one saying in particular rang true on Saturday for UNG; big-time players make big-time plays. 

UNG relied on a number of big-time plays to get past its Peach Belt Conference rival Columbus State on Saturday. The win marked the third in program history over the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament as the Nighthawks have gone a perfect 3-0 against the in-state foe. 

The shared history between UNG and CSU was baked deep into the fibers of Saturday's regional semifinal showdown. In the regular season, both teams went into hostile territory and took a win on the other's home floor. CSU's win in Dahlonega on Jan. 13 ended a 13-game win streak for the Nighthawks and prevented them from starting the season 14-0 which would've been a program record. 

The Cougars forced 24 turnovers in that game and held UNG's leading scorer, graduate guard Caroline Martin, to zero points. Martin would not be held in check this time around. Neither would senior guard Ansley Hall or graduate forward Emily Trushel.

Trushel set the tone early on Saturday. Against CSU's stingy perimeter defense, she knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game. The last of such triples gave the Nighthawks a 12-2 lead. 

The Cougars ended the quarter on an 8-3 spurt to pull within five points, however. When they opened the second period on a 12-3 run and took a four-point lead, Trushel drilled another three to swing the momentum back in UNG's favor.

Only seven combined points were scored the rest of the period in the defensive slug fest as the half ended with CSU up 26-24.

The crowd grew restless and the situation dire as the third quarter trudged on. The Cougars took a slim lead and held it for almost the entire frame until Martin grabbed her own miss and converted on a put back layup to tie the game at 40-40. 

30 intense minutes of play since the opening tip and the game was right back where it started; all square heading into the fourth. The next 10 minutes would decide the fate of the two fierce rivals. 

Tied at 44-44, Hall got in the mix with a three pointer from the left corner to take the lead. However, a 7-0 Cougar run suddenly had the visitors ahead 51-47 with just 5:16 to play.

As the offense struggled to score the ball down the stretch against CSU's vaunted full-court press, Trushel took matters into her own hands. She sprinted behind the defense and called for a long pass as she had nothing but the open floor between her and the basket. Martin fired the ball to her and Trushel scooped a layup off the glass to make it 51-49.

After forcing a miss at the other end, UNG had a chance to tie the game or take the lead with less than four minutes remaining. Martin chose the latter. 

After a broken play, with 10 seconds on the shot clock, Martin received the ball near the top of the key and glanced at the timer. No one in the building would know it until a few seconds later, but she had already decided what she was going to do. 

Sophomore forward Kendall Emener came up to set a flat screen at the height of the arc. With the clock still winding down, however, Martin took her time. She sized up her defender and walked her down to the screen. As soon as her defender ducked under the screen, Martin stopped, rose and fired a triple. UNG took a 52-51 lead as the ball dropped through the rim on the big-time play.

Cougar graduate guard Bre'Lyn Snipes drove the lane and scored a layup a few possessions later. The PBC All-Conference Second Team selection torched the Nighthawks offensively on Saturday. She had a game-high 25 points and knocked down four threes while going 8-for-15 from the floor. Her late layup gave her team a 53-52 lead with 2:09 on the clock.

At the other end, Trushel drew a foul and went to the free-throw line to shoot two shots. Despite having the nation's 13th-best foul shooter at the line, nervous energy ran through the crowd. UNG (a typically great free-throw shooting team at 74.8 percent on the season) had struggled mightily from the line thus far going just 5-for-14 prior to Trushel's visit. The veteran calmly knocked down both attempts to reclaim the lead. 

On the following possession, CSU ran a play for its graduate guard Olonna Rawls. The PBC Defensive Player of the Year exploded on offense for a career-high 30 points in the Cougars' overtime win over Francis Marion in the First Round. While she was handicapped with foul trouble in Saturday's game, Rawls was still a lethal threat to score in crunch time. 

Guarded by Hall, Rawls received the ball on the right wing and drove to the middle of the floor. Hall stepped in and cut off the drive, forcing Rawls to spin to her left shoulder. As she crept beyond the mid range and near the right block, Rawls turned to face the basket. Hall dropped down and poked the ball away, catalyzing a frenzy for possession. Both players dove on the floor. CSU had the possession arrow. A jump ball would've given them another chance to take the lead. Hall wanted nothing to do with that idea. She pounced on the ball and wrestled it right out of Rawls' hands. As she turned away, Hall tucked the ball under her arm and signaled for a timeout. 

UNG was awarded the timeout and possession thanks to the all-out hustle play from its senior guard. The big-time play resulted in Trushel scoring a tough layup on the next possession to extend the lead to 56-53 with 1:19 to go.

After forcing yet another stop on defense, the Nighthawks had the lead and the ball with less than a minute to play. CSU needed one stop to save its season. UNG needed a bucket to go ahead by two possessions and likely clinch a victory. The crowd rose to its feet as the energy in the building grew. In the biggest moment, Martin answered the bell once more. 

Starting from half court, Martin blew past her defender with a behind-the-back dribble. She entered the lane and went up for a contested layup. As she hung in the air, a whistle blew for a foul on the Cougars. Martin flipped the ball up and it paused on the rim for a moment before dropping in, unleashing a celebration amongst the Nighthawk faithful.

Martin made the and-one free throw to go ahead 59-53 with 35 seconds remaining. UNG would eventually hang on for the win by knocking down seven of its eight attempts at the foul line despite the early-game struggles. 

Trushel finished the game with a team-high 23 points thanks in part to her 5-for-8 mark from downtown. She added nine rebounds and an unbelievable effort on the defensive end that resulted in a pair of blocks and two steals. 

Martin flirted with the first triple-double in the NCAA Division II era (2005) in program history with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. She had to instead settle for her second-career NCAA Tournament double-double, the first of which came on Friday. Martin is averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in the NCAA Tournament this year.

Hall ended the night with 10 points, three assists, one block and a steal. Saturday marked the first double-digit scoring performance of Hall's career in the big dance. 

With the eight-point victory, the Nighthawks checked another box this season; defending home court against a rival. After getting revenge against the Cougars, another box is waiting to be checked as UNG prepares for the Southeast Regional Championship on Monday. Awaiting the Nighthawks are the second-seeded Cobras who pulled out a thrilling, 48-44 win of their own against sixth-seeded Carson-Newman on Saturday. Tip off in the title game is set for 7 p.m. from the UNG Convocation Center.