Sutton, Burson Earn Major Awards; Three women basketball players named to All-Conference team
Business, Press Release March 5, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of North Georgia women’s basketball program was well represented on the Peach Belt Conference postseason awards list as Julianne Sutton earned Co-Player of the Year honors and Buffie Burson was named Coach of the Year. Additionally, Sutton and Caroline Martin earned first team All-Conference honors, while Abbie Franklin was tabbed to the second team.
A senior forward from Flowery Branch, Georgia, Sutton, along with Lander’s Makaila Cangé, becomes the sixth player in PBC history to repeat as the PBC Player of the Year and the first to do so in non-consecutive seasons. This year, she became the only player in PBC history to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds and is currently fourth all time in career points and seventh in career rebounds. Sutton is currently ranked seventh in the PBC in scoring, fourth in rebounding, second in field goal percentage and fifth in free throw percentage.
In her 27th season at North Georgia, Burson led the Nighthawks to the PBC regular-season championship this year, their fourth regular-season title overall and third in the last five years. Her team is the No. 1 seed and host of this week’s PBC Tournament where they are the defending champions and are trying to win their fourth tournament title in five seasons. UNG has been nationally ranked in every WBCA poll this season, rising as high as No. 4 in the nation and among the top 10 for seven weeks; UNG is also ranked atop in the NCAA Southeast Region poll. The Nighthawks lead the PBC in scoring defense, made three-pointers, rebound margin and is ranked in the top three in scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. She wins the PBC Coach of the Year honor for the fourth time, the most ever among women’s basketball coaches.
Martin is second on the team in scoring at 15 points per contest and shoots at a 41 percent clip from beyond the three point line. Last year’s Freshman of the Year, she is an All-Conference honoree for the second time in her career after being named to the Third Team last year.
Franklin averages 8.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. She leads the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.6, nearly a full assist more than the closest player, and is second in the conference in assists per contest at 5.6. She also plays the third most minutes per game in the league. A preseason All-Conference honoree this year, Franklin was named to the 2019-20 All-Conference second team and also won Freshman of the Year honors in 2017-18.
North Georgia will take on Columbus State Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside the Convocation Center in the PBC semifinals. Tickets are on sale through the Peach Belt Conference website.
No. 7 women’s basketball blows past Cougs, 85-53
Press Release January 24, 2022
DAHLONEGA – The No. 7 University of North Georgia women’s basketball team hit 12 three pointers as they took care of Columbus State, 85-53, Saturday afternoon.
Leading from start to finish, the Nighthawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead and extended their lead to as many as 12 in the first quarter and 18 by halftime. UNG never took the foot off the gas, storming away to the 32 point win.
NOTES
– Caroline Martin led all scorers with 21 points, while Josie Earnhardt had 19. Julianne Sutton recorded another double-double, scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes of play.
– Abbie Franklin recorded a near triple-double, putting up nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
– UNG was 12-for-28 from three and 17-for-20 from the free throw line.
NEXT UP
North Georgia starts a two-game road swing with a Battle of Blood Mountain matchup at Young Harris Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.
Sutton, Martin lead No. 4 Nighthawks to 87-71 win
Press Release November 23, 2021
PRESS RELEASE
DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Four Nighthawks finished in double figures as the No. 5 University of North Georgia women’s basketball team claimed an 87-71 win over Montevallo Saturday afternoon on the final day of the UNG Nighthawk Classic.
Josie Earnhardt hit back-to-back threes to get the game started for UNG, but the Falcons battled back, hitting five of their first seven from beyond the arc to claw back into the game, taking the lead at 19-18 late in the first period. North Georgia answered with a 9-0 run to end the first and start the second, never looking back.
The Nighthawks led by as many as 17 in the second half, but Montevallo trimmed the lead to 70-66 with five minutes to play before UNG finished on a 17-5 run to claim the win.
NOTES
– Julianne Sutton notched her 22nd career double-double with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Caroline Martin scored 20 points, while Abbie Franklin put up 17. Earnhardt finished with 15 points on five made threes.
– UNG was 12-for-36 from distance.
– North Georgia has not lost a game in the Nighthawk Classic since falling to then-No. 3 Carson-Newman in the 2018 iteration of the tournament.
NEXT UP
UNG will hit the road Tuesday to take on West Georgia. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.