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ugh
Joe Chance
70
Winner West Alabama UWA 14-14
65
North Alabama UNA 24-4
Winner
West Alabama UWA
14-14
70
Final
65
North Alabama UNA
24-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Alabama UWA 25 14 15 16 70
North Alabama UNA 16 16 16 17 65

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Tigers Upset UNA, Advance to GSC Semi-Finals

FLORENCE, Ala. – Tazsa Garrett-Hammett had a double-double as West Alabama upset 18th-ranked and No. 2 seed North Alabama, 70-65, in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Gulf South Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Tuesday at Flowers Hall.
 
The victory sends the seventh-seeded Tigers (14-14) to the semi-final round of the tournament Saturday against West Florida at the Pete Hannah Center in Birmingham. North Alabama (24-4) will be forced to wait until the NCAA Division II Tournament bracket is announced to find out its next opponent.
 
The West Alabama victory avenged a 27-point loss to UNA in Flowers Hall just five days ago, when the Lions notched a 102-75 win to end the regular season for both teams.
 
"We came back up here committed. Our kids took last Thursday's result personal," UWA head coach Rusty Cram said. "We got some injured and sick folks back, but this belongs to our kids.
 
"Our girls played with heart. This was not a coaching thing, but a player thing," Cram said. "We beat a great team at their place that had humbled us here just a few days ago. I am tickled to death for our girls."
 
This time around UNA led once, 2-0, with 9:50 to go in the first quarter. West Alabama's largest lead was 12 points with 9:39 to play in the second quarter. North Alabama would cut the UWA lead to 66-64 with 54 seconds left but would get no closer.
 
A layup from Elaine Field and two free throws from Kierra Groce, who transferred to UWA from North Alabama, iced the game away in the final 25 seconds.
 
The Tigers would limit UNA to just 29 percent shooting from the floor, allowing the normally long-ball Lions to convert just 7-of-30 three-point tries. West Alabama made 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded UNA 54-37.
 
"We tried to take away transition points and did a good job there, limiting them to just three at the half and eight for the game," Cram said. "We went after their fast break first and wanted to keep them off the (free throw) line."
 
Garrett-Hammett tied a bow around a day when she was named the GSC Freshman of the Year by scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double. Chloe Culpepper followed with 13 points and nine boards. Groce and Field chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Emma Wallen scored a game-high 22 points for UNA but took 27 shots to do so. Brittany Panetti chipped in 14 and Darby Madden 10.
 
Information on tickets, live video and live stats for the semi-final round in Birmingham can be found at the GSC Tournament home page. Tiger fans can listen to the game live on ESPN 104.9 in the Twin States area with Nicholas Finch on the call.
 
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