UWA Wins GSC Opener 47-42 against Mississippi College

Box Score

CLINTON, Miss. - In a tight defensive road game, West Alabama women's basketball pulled ahead of Mississippi College 47-42 to win its Gulf South Conference opener Thursday night at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

UWA improved to 6-1 overall and is now 1-0 in GSC play. Mississippi College dropped to 4-3 overall and is now 0-1 in the conference.

Jala Williams and Tazsa Garrett-Hammett were the only Tiger to see double-figures in the matchup. Williams led UWA with 16 points and six rebounds. The Tallahassee, Florida native went 5-for-9 from the field, shooting .556.

Garrett-Hammett scored 12 points for the Tigers, also going 5-for-9 from the field. The LaGrange, Georgia native collected five rebounds. Bria Dent led the Tigers in rebounds, bringing down nine boards.

The first two points were put up by Mississippi College four minutes after tip-off, giving the Choctaws a 2-0 advantage over the Tigers. MC then went on a 7-0 run. With 9.4 seconds left in the first quarter, Jala Williams knocked down a free throw to head in the second quarter trailing 9-1.

UWA hit two layups to start the second quarter, one by Williams and the other by Naelyn Rios to cut MC's lead 9-5. The Choctaws then outscored the Tigers 10-8 to close out the second quarter with UWA still trailing 19-13.

Coming out of the half, the Tigers went on a 7-2 run to cut the Choctaws lead to 21-18. Garrett-Hammett scored all seven points off two layups and one three-pointer. With 6:24 remaining in the third quarter, Mississippi College responded and went on a 7-0 run.

Dent snapped the Choctaws' run at the 3:26 mark by making a layup to cut MC's lead to 28-22. The third quarter ended with two free throws from Mississippi College, while Williams scored a layup to close out the third quarter 30-24.

The Tigers battled back and outscored the Choctaws 8-2 in the start of the fourth quarter to take the lead over 33-32. Mississippi College made a free throw to tie the game at 33-all at the 5:26 mark. With 3:58 remaining, UWA took back over when Jala Williams knocked down a layup and free throw to put the score at 36-33.

With 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, both teams had a run of five points, allowing the Tigers to keep the lead 41-40. Jala Williams extended the lead to 45-40 by making her layup and knocking down two free throws. With 23 seconds remaining, Mississippi College responded with a layup to cut UWA's lead 45-42.

The Tigers closed out the game by Rios and Williams each knocking down a free throw to claim the 46-42 victory over Choctaws.

UWA returns to action Saturday, Dec. 4. The Tigers face Delta State in a GSC matchup with a tip-off time set at 2 p.m. in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Box Score

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.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Bria Dent: G/F; 5' 9"; Junior

#1 Tazsa Garrett-Hammett: G/F; 5' 11"; Senior

#10 Jala Williams: G; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 Bria Dent
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G/F

#1 Tazsa Garrett-Hammett
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G/F

#10 Jala Williams
: 5' 5"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Bria Dent

#1 Tazsa Garrett-Hammett

#10 Jala Williams

Players Mentioned

#2 Bria Dent

#1 Tazsa Garrett-Hammett

#10 Jala Williams