CARROLLTON, Ga. - Trailing by one with a minute to play, the West Georgia women's basketball team hung tough and earned a hard-fought victory on Saturday, defeating Clark Atlanta, 65-61.
In what was an extremely physical game, West Georgia (2-2) fought off multiple Clark Atlanta runs to defeat the Panthers and win their second consecutive game.
The Wolves had double-digit leads in the third and fourth quarters, but each time, Clark Atlanta (1-2) clawed back and eventually took a one-point lead with 1:03 remaining. But credit to the Wolves who fought off every blow and eventually came away with the win.
"That's Clark Atlanta. They are streaky," said head coach Joanna Reitz. "They have trouble scoring at times, and then they'll score in bunches, and we knew that going in."
Reitz's squad started slow, but still led after one quarter, and got their first double-digit lead after a Becca Ledford layup with 3:25 left in the second quarter. The lead got as high 15 before the break, but by the time halftime arrived, UWG led by 11.
Stephanie Torres, who led the Wolves with 20 points, hit a three-out of the gate to stretch the lead to 14, but then here came the Panthers with a 14-2 run to cut it to 33-31 midway through the third.
"We know basketball is a game of runs, and I was proud of our team because we were able to answer their runs," Reitz added. "That takes grit and it takes some mental toughness, so I'm really proud of our team."
One of those answers from the Wolves came late in the third as after CAU tied things up, West Georgia closed the period on a 13-1 run to take a 12-point lead into the game's final quarter.
Clark Atlanta didn't lay down, however, erasing a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to eventually take that late, 61-60 lead on a pair of free throws by Corrine Evans, who finished with a game-high 22 points.
In the game's final minute, Peace Okeke gave the Wolves the lead back with a layup off the glass, and then the UWG defense held off Clark Atlanta and Torres did the rest, converting 3-of-4 free throws in the final 10 seconds to give UWG two straight 20-point performances after Aliyah Washington's 21 on Wednesday night.
"That makes us tough to stop. We want to be a team that passes the ball, and gives up good shots for great shots," Reitz said of a different scoring leader on Saturday. "I thought Steph made really good decisions with the basketball and she was under control. Clark was obviously prepared for Aliyah, but she stayed controlled and did a good job for us."
Behind Torres was Sophia Singer and Peace Okeke with eight points each while Maya Timberlake and Becca Ledford added seven.
West Georgia had a one-rebound advantage on the glass, thanks in large part to a 12-rebound performance from Okeke, giving her 27 rebounds in two games this week.
"We need that. We're undersized almost every game," Reitz added, "I appreciate the way Peace intentionally crashes and she's disciplined in her box outs. We need that every night, and I'm really proud of her."
The win was the 19th in the all-time series over Clark Atlanta, and it improved UWG to a perfect 11-0 at home against the Panthers.
Next up, UWG is back into conference play, but remains home for a third consecutive game, hosting Christian Brothers on Tuesday night.
"We're excited. Again, a good opponent, I think CBU was picked fifth in the Preseason Coaches Poll, so we've got our work cut out for us," Reitz concluded. "But we'll prepare well and give them all we've got, and I love the fact that we get to play at home again."
Tip-time on Tuesday night is set for 5:30 from The Coliseum.
