Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Bria Dent
Joe Chance
71
Winner West Alabama UWA 10-6, 10-9 GSC
64
Delta State University DSU 6-10, 6-10 GSC
Winner
West Alabama UWA
10-6, 10-9 GSC
71
Final
64
Delta State University DSU
6-10, 6-10 GSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Alabama UWA 8 22 20 21 71
Delta State University DSU 8 16 16 24 64

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Tigers Clinch Home Tournament Game with Win over DSU

CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of West Alabama Women's basketball team needed a win to guarantee home court in the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament and the team did just that with a 71-64 win over the Delta State Lady Statesmen in Walter Sillers Coliseum Friday night. 
 
The Tigers improved to 10-6 overall on the season and 9-6 in GSC competition while DSU fell to 6-10 both overall and in the league.
 
"So very proud of these ladies," said Head coach Rusty Cram. "I thought our defense was really good and our offensive execution was really good as well.  Coach (Veronica Ryan) and Coach Jeff (Lovell) did great prep work."
 
West Alabama shot 46.8 percent (22-of-47) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from behind the arc and 80 percent (20-of-25) from the free throw line. 
 
"Total team effort tonight," said Cram. "We got to the free throw line and it paid huge dividends for us. Delta State is a tough program to beat. Coach (Craig) Roden does a great job so to beat them on their court is very special."
 
Meanwhile, the Lady Statesmen were limited to 42.4 percent (25-of-59) shooting, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) and 50 percent (10-of-20) at the free throw line.
 
Bria Dent posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds along with two assists and two steals. Naelyn Rios finished 20 points as well with eight rebounds, three assists and a block. 
 
Tazsa Garrett-Hammett went for 19 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Jala Williams dished nine assists with six rebounds, four steals and added two points. 
 
Scoring was at a premium for both teams early as the squads battled to an 8-8 tie after 10 minutes of competition. However, the second quarter is where the Tigers built as much as a 13-point led after Dent connected on a layup to go up 27-14 at 2:51 left in the half. Delta State closed the gap to six points off a three by T'kyra Hicks to bring the score to 30-24 at the half.
 
The Tigers maintained mostly a double-digit lead in the third quarter and were ahead by 10 to end the period, 50-40. In the fourth, the Lady Statesmen cut the lead to as low as four points for UWA at the 1:02 mark off a three from Shaniyah Buford to make the score 65-61. This is as close as DSU would get as the Tigers pushed to the seven-point final margin to secure the 71-64 victory,
 
Buford and Hicks both scored 18 points each to lead the scoring effort for Delta State while Kirstin Brown scored 11. Zyaire Ewing grabbed 11 rebounds to lead DSU on the boards.
 
West Alabama returns to action tomorrow for one more on the road against the Lady Statesmen. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. with links to live video and live stats available on uwaathletics.com. 
 
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.
Print Friendly Version