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Rusty Cram
Joe Chance
71
Winner West Alabama UWA 7-20, 4-16 GSC
67
Shorter SU-W 8-17, 7-13 GSC
Winner
West Alabama UWA
7-20, 4-16 GSC
71
Final
67
Shorter SU-W
8-17, 7-13 GSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Alabama UWA 16 22 16 17 71
Shorter SU-W 13 12 18 24 67

Next Game:

Delta State

2/23/2017 | 5:30 p.m.

ESPN 104.9

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Feb. 23 (Thu) / 5:30 p.m.
 Delta State
History

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Tigers Snap Skid With Win At Shorter

ROME, Ga. – The University of West Alabama women's basketball team built and early lead Saturday and held on late for a 71-67 victory over Gulf South Conference foe Shorter.

"Any time you can go on the road and get a conference win, it's a good thing," UWA coach Rusty Cram said of the victory, which was the first for the Tigers since a 71-62 Jan. 21 win over Union. "Coming into this weekend, we set this as kind of a four-game mini-tournament for ourselves. We wanted to see if we could go 4-0 or 3-1. We're 1-1 now with two to play."

Playing without second leading scorer Catherine Taylor, the Tigers looked to make up for the offensive slack collectively, a point of emphasis by Cram and his staff.

"That's what we've sold them on," Cram said of the need for increased offensive from a number of players in Taylor's absence."

Senior Ariel Wilson apparently took that charge to heart, pouring in 28 points in the effort. Her teammates aided her handsomely as Kierra Groce notched 15 and four other Tigers scored six or more.

"When you get 28 out of Ariel, those seven and eight points start to add up," Cram said.

UWA took the lead on a Wilson three-pointer with 6:58 to go in the first quarter and never lost it again.

The advantage ballooned to as many as 16 before Shorter began to find its way back into the game.

With Chloe Culpepper and Caleb Washington in foul trouble in the fourth quarter, the Tigers shifted to a smaller lineup. Shorter used its newfound size advantage to out-rebound UWA 24-9 in the second half and peck its way back into the contest. 

The Hawks cut a 14-point fourth quarter lead to 68-67 on a Breanna Thompson free throw with 23 seconds to play. With 18.7 left on the clock, Shorter had the ball and came out of a timeout with a play call in mind.

Kayla Tillie took the inbound pass and worked to her right before dumping off to Taylor Adams, who moved to the block and then went baseline to Thompson. As Thompson looked for an outlet with the clock winding down, Sydney King poked the ball free and Wilson dashed to the loose ball. The Tiger senior later added two free throws to move the advantage to 70-67. A last-second shot attempt by Adams caromed off the front of the iron and into the waiting arms of Jenna Bradberry, who added a free throw to set the final margin. 

The Tigers are set to play again Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when they host Delta State.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Sydney King

#2 Sydney King

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Caleb Washington

#30 Caleb Washington

C
6' 3"
Sophomore
Chloe Culpepper

#23 Chloe Culpepper

C
6' 0"
Sophomore
Ariel Wilson

#22 Ariel Wilson

G
5' 5"
Senior
Catherine Taylor

#20 Catherine Taylor

G/F
5' 10"
Senior
Kierra Groce

#4 Kierra Groce

G
5' 4"
Sophomore
Jenna Bradberry

#21 Jenna Bradberry

F
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Sydney King

#2 Sydney King

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Caleb Washington

#30 Caleb Washington

6' 3"
Sophomore
C
Chloe Culpepper

#23 Chloe Culpepper

6' 0"
Sophomore
C
Ariel Wilson

#22 Ariel Wilson

5' 5"
Senior
G
Catherine Taylor

#20 Catherine Taylor

5' 10"
Senior
G/F
Kierra Groce

#4 Kierra Groce

5' 4"
Sophomore
G
Jenna Bradberry

#21 Jenna Bradberry

5' 10"
Freshman
F