CARROLLTON, Ga. - Behind a stifling defensive effort, the UWG women's basketball team snapped a four-game skid on Thursday night, defeating the Alabama Huntsville Chargers 58-37 at The Coliseum.
West Georgia (4-6, 3-4 GSC) held UAH to under 30 percent from the field, and held the Chargers to their lowest point total on the season and the fewest points in a game since November 2016.
"Tonight, we carried out our defensive game plan very well," said head coach Joanna Reitz, "We were locked in. We talk a lot about defending together and not on an island, and you can see that. We were a unit out there, and I'm proud of he growth of our team."
Alabama Huntsville (3-8, 3-5 GSC) only scored double-figures in the third quarter, with the Wolves' defense holding the Chargers in single digits in three of the four quarters.
Peace Okeke recorded her second consecutive double-double, and third of the season, with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds.
"She is just growing," Reitz said of her senior forward after posting game-highs in points and rebounds. "Her game is growing, her confidence is growing, her voice is growing. She's a quiet leader on our team, but she's aggressive on the boards and she knows we need that from her and she takes that role seriously."
The Abache, Nigeria native was a big reason UWG had the advantage on the glass, pulling down 37 rebounds as a team to just 27 from UAH. The Wolves also protected the basketball well, limiting their turnovers to just 12 while forcing 16 UAH turnovers.
West Georgia jumped out to an early lead, with a Steph Torres three-pointer midway through the first quarter making it a 9-4 game. After an answer by UAH to make it 9-7, UWG ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead by 10 after an opening quarter.
No one wanted to score in the second quarter as the teams combined for just 11 points in the period. The Wolves got seven of those and used their defense to still extend the lead to 13 points by the halftime break.
Okeke led the Wolves in the opening half with eight points and six rebounds while Steph Torres added five.
The third quarter saw UAH score 17 and UWG add 15 as the Chargers kept the game within striking distance. But in the fourth, UWG's defense was stifling again holding UAH to just nine points. Meanwhile, UWG shot 66.7 percent (6-of-9) and 80 percent (4-of-5) from beyond the arc to lead by as much as 24 in the final quarter.
Stephanie Torres, Maya Timberlake, and Sophia Singer each had eight points to go with Okeke's game-high 13. Katelyn Dunning and Sara Viti each had six.
Reitz was especially pleased with how her team responded to Sunday's loss in their return home to The Coliseum.
"I'm proud of our team and how they responded," Reitz added. "We came back from Sunday's game knowing we were a better team than what we showed there and we had something to prove tonight. Our players had a renewed focus, a renewed energy, intensity, and discipline, and there's was nothing stopping them tonight. They were on a mission, came in with the right mentality and prepared well, and I'm really proud of our effort."
Now Reitz and the Wolves look to roll the momentum of tonight's win into the final game before the Holiday break as UWG travels to West Alabama on Sunday for a 3 p.m. EST contest from Pruitt Hall in Livingston, Alabama.
