Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Jasmine Howard and Jordan Smith combined for 49 points to lead Alabama-Huntsville to an 84-60 women's college basketball victory over West Alabama in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Spragins Hall.
The win improved UAH to 6-1 overall, while UWA dropped to 3-4 with its fourth consecutive road loss.
"We didn't have an answer for Howard and Smith today," UWA head coach Craig Roden said. "Those are two of the top players in this league and have been doing good things for a while."
Hammond led all scorers with 26 points and Smith followed with 23. Smith converted 6-of-7 three-point field goal attempts for the Chargers. Juanice Newton collected 10 rebounds for UAH, who outrebounded the Tigers 49-45.
West Alabama jumped out to an early lead, holding a four-point advantage with 12:23 left in the first half. The Chargers rebounded to lead 40-31 at the half and never trailed the rest of the way.
"Our guard play was the best it has been on the road all year. We are showing improvement there," Roden said. "If we had handled pressure this well earlier in the year we would be sitting here 5-2 instead of 3-4. We turned it over 19 times and our guards just had seven of those."
Shameika Hart scored 22 points to lead West Alabama, while Alexis Hewitt recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, making 7-of-10 field goal attempts. Kelcia Bufkin contributed 10 points and six assists. Quentinette Odom had nine rebounds.
"Alexis Hewitt came up big again. Sixteen and 15 is a good night, especially for someone battling the flu," Roden said. "We were not able to follow through with our defensive intensity in the second half and they took advantage of that."
Charged with opening the conference season with the top two teams in the GSC, West Alabama is host to 12th ranked Delta State Thursday. The Lady Statesmen are 6-1 and bring a six-game winning streak to Pruitt Hall. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
