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Naelyn Rios
Joe Chance
47
Delta State University DSU 0-2
54
Winner West Alabama UWA 2-0
Delta State University DSU
0-2
47
Final
54
West Alabama UWA
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Delta State University DSU 11 8 15 13 47
West Alabama UWA 12 10 16 16 54

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Tigers Start 2-0 With 54-47 Win Over Delta State

LIVINGSTON, Ala. –West Alabama battled through early foul trouble and finished on a 7-0 run in the last two minutes on the way to a 54-47 Gulf South Conference women's basketball victory over Delta State Sunday at Pruitt Hall Gym.
 
The Tigers improved to 2-0. Delta State is 0-2. Sunday's game was the second in a span of 24 hours to open the 2020-21 season for both teams. The GSC has implemented back-to-back games for this season to help mitigate testing costs in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
"Playing back-to-back is different for everybody," West Alabama head coach Rusty Cram said. "Teams who can play eight to 10 players in a game are going to be better off in the early going."
 
Tazsa Garrett-Hammett finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, getting 11 of those points and seven rebounds in the second half. The fourth-leading scorer (1,052 points) in UWA women's basketball history was limited to just 29 minutes after picking up three fouls in the first half.
 
Bria Dent squeezed 12 points and five rebounds out of just 29 minutes as well. Naelyn Rios rounded out double-figure scoring for the Tigers by chipping in 12 more.
 
West Alabama led 22-19 at the half after limiting Delta State to just 15 percent shooting (4-for-26) from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Tigers shot just 30 percent from the field (8-for-26) in the half, but DSU held a 14 rebound advantage at the halfway point.
 
For the second consecutive games the Tigers relied on defense to boost them to victory. UWA limited Delta State to just 25 percent from the floor (15-of-60) and forced 22 turnovers. West Alabama shot just 37 percent for the game (18-for-48), but made 5-of-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter. DSU outrebounded UWA, 50-33, collecting 26 offensive boards.
 
"We had trouble finding a rhythm offensively all night, but to hold Delta State to under 50 points is an incredible job by our players," Cram said. "Our bench really stepped forward to give us some good minutes. At one time I looked and we had four of five starters sitting out in foul trouble."
 
In a back-and-forth affair for much of the afternoon, the score was tied nine times and the lead changed hands 14 times, very different from UWA's Saturday win when the Tigers led for all but 24 seconds. The Lady Statesmen's largest lead was just two points and UWA's biggest advantage was the final margin.
 
Zyaire Ewing had a double-double for Delta State, scoring 16 points and collecting a game-high 15 rebounds. Shaniyah Buford led all scorers with 18 points for the Lady Statesmen.
 
West Alabama is scheduled to visit Christian Brothers for a two-game set beginning Friday at 6 p.m. Tipoff for Saturday's game is 2 p.m. Both games will be played at Canale Arena in Memphis, Tennessee.
 
  
 
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