LIVINGSTON, Ala. – With a thrilling 82-78 victory, the University of West Alabama women's basketball team served up some payback for an earlier defeat at the hands of Alabama in Huntsville. The win on Saturday at Pruitt Hall pushes UWA to 17-5 (5-3 Gulf South Conference) on the season while it drops the Lady Chargers to 10-12 (5-4 GSC).

The win propels UWA into second place in the GSC East Division and was made possible by Mystee Dale who scored the last of her 29 points with just 4.2 seconds on the clock to break a 78-78 tie and give UWA the lead.

LaShandra McCoy ensured the victory as she sank a pair of free throws after picking the pocket of Andrea Bennett on the ensuing possession after Dale's bucket.

Dale finished the contest with a game-best 29 points while also collecting a team-high seven rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Latashia Greer who dropped 19 and Danielle Cole who chipped in with 10. McCoy scored just eight, but she also dished out nine helpers to her teammates.

The nine assists matches a season-high for the Tigers as Dale also recorded nine in a game against Christian Brothers earlier this year.

The contest was a back-and-forth affair as it was tied on seven occasions and the lead exchanged hands 11 times.

The Lady Chargers relatively controlled the first 10 minutes of the contest, using an 8-2 run to build up a 21-16 advantage at the 10:31 mark of the opening half. Later in the period, the Tigers ripped off a string of points of their own, outscoring the guests 9-1 to push out to a 36-29 advantage with 2:11 remaining.

UAH closed the gap over the final two minutes, and the score was 39-36 at the halftime break.

Controlling the first seven minutes of the second half, UWA pushed its lead all the way out to 12. The Tigers' largest lead of the night was created thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers. Dale connected on one of her three she hit on the night while Larrenda Rockwell also had a trey during the run.

UWA finished the night hitting six of its 14 3-point attempts for a solid 42.9 percentage from long-range.

Not deterred by the 61-49 score, the Lady Chargers went on an impressive run. In just under four minutes, they scored 13 straight points and tilted the game back in their favor at 62-61 with 9:44 left in the ballgame.

From that point forward, the Tigers would tie the game a handful of times but UAH enjoyed as much as a six-point lead in the closing minutes.

But with UAH holding a 78-76 advantage with less than a minute to play, Latashia Greer created the final tie of the game as she sank a jumper from inside the paint. McCoy proceeded to pick up her third steal of the afternoon to setup the heroics from Dale.

That steal and the one that followed Dale's basket gave McCoy a game-best four takeaways.

The Red and White outshot the Lady Chargers on the night as it registered a 47.1 percentage from the field. The Tiger defense held UAH to shoot 41.8 percent, but more importantly the visitors only connected on 4-17 from 3-point range. At Huntsville earlier this season, the team connected on 13 treys.

Shoring up the perimeter allowed UAH to score more points inside, but UWA still outscored the Lady Chargers in the paint by a 42-34 margin. The rebounding battle, however, was dominated by UAH 51-35.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Pensacola, Fla. to take on West Florida. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and can be heard on ESPN 104.9.