LIVINGSTON, Ala. - West Alabama women's basketball trailed by 15 points in the second half, then the Tigers outscored Shorter 52-27 to cruise past the Hawks 83-68 in a Gulf South Conference matchup Saturday evening in Pruitt Hall Gymnasium.

The Tigers improved to 8-3 on the season and are now 2-1 in GSC play. The Hawks dropped to 1-6 overall and are 0-5 in the conference. 

Three Tigers scored in double figures in the matchup. Tazsa Garrett-Hammett scored 27 points and had three rebounds. Bria Dent added 14 points and had 10 rebounds, making that her fifth double-double of the season. Jala Williams scored 13 points and five rebounds.

West Alabama outscored Shorter 15-14 in the first quarter, but the Hawks won the second quarter 27-16, giving SU a 41-31 lead heading into the half. 

Coming out of the half, Williams made the first two points. The Tigers put up 18 more points and outscored the Hawks by one. Shorter still had the lead 60-51 at the end of the third quarter.

The Tigers went on a 11-3 run to start the fourth quarter. West Alabama was still trailing, 63-62. With 5:38 remaining, Garrett-Hammett made her layup to push the Tigers ahead of the Hawks 64-63.

With 4:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Tigers went on a 19-5 run to close out the game with a 83-68 victory over Shorter.

As a unit, UWA shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. 

Kelly Pickett led the Shorters' offense with 22 points.

The Hawks shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the floor, 50 percent (1-of-2) from the three-point line, and 83.3 percent (20-of-24) from the free throw line. 

West Alabama dominated the paint scoring 46 points compared to Shorter's 26 points. 

Box Score 

UWA returns to action Monday, Dec. 20 in Carrollton, Georgia. The Tigers battle West Georgia in a GSC matchup. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.  

To stay connected with the UWA women's basketball team, follow @UWAwbb on Instagram and @UWA_WBB on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.