CARROLLTON, Ga. - Twenty-point performances from Zuriyah Davis and K'Nari Holliday propelled the UWG women's basketball team to a 71-64 victory over West Florida on Wednesday.
 
West Georgia (12-8, 8-8 GSC) shot nearly 50 percent from the floor in the win, defeating West Florida (12-8, 9-7 GSC) for the first time since 2019-20, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Argos.
 
"We felt like we had a little bit of redemption to do today. We weren't proud of the way we played at Union on either side of the ball, so we were on a mission today," said head coach Joanna Reitz. "West Florida beat us at their place, we played them tough, so we had a little bit of an extra chip on our shoulder today, so really proud of the team's effort.
 
Davis led all scorers with 23, giving her nine 20-point games this season, while Holliday ended the game with a career-high 21.
 
"K'nari and Z, they put the work in, and they know the ball is going to come to them in critical moments," said Reitz. "K'nari did a really good job of staying composed. In the second half, there were some moments where there were four people on her, and she held her composure. They worked hard to earn the opportunity to have the ball in their hands in those big moments."
 
The opening quarter was a tight one, but West Georgia used a 6-1 run to close out the half to create a six-point separation at the end of the period.
 
The Wolves then opened the second quarter on a 7-1 run capped by an Aliyah Washington three that forced UWF into a timeout with 6:25 left in the half and UWG up 23-11. By the end of the half, West Georgia had outscored the Argos 17-6 in the second to lead by 17 at the halftime break.
 
"That's something we worked on, the consistency of taking good shots everytime down the floor and when we do it, we are able to put some points together, and when we get away from it, we get ourselves in trouble," Reitz said of the key moment in the first half. "Our team continues to grow in consistency and what a win."
 
West Florida opened the second half on a 10-2 run, cutting the UWG lead to single digits and forcing Reitz into a timeout early in the third period. The Wolves would eventually get back to a 14-point lead in the period before taking an 11-point lead into the final quarter.
 
That lead quickly shrunk to three at 54-51 with 7:25 left as UWF hit two three-pointers to fuel a 12-4 run out of the break. After UWG took a timeout, UWF tied it up with a three-pointer, but Sydne Tolbert answered with a three of the Wolves' own. That seized momentum as it powered an 8-0 run putting UWG up 62-54 after a Zuriyah Davis three at the 3:57 mark.
 
With a six-point lead with 13 seconds left, Aliyah Washington put the game away at the free throw line.
 
Beyond the scoring bursts from Davis and Holliday, the Wolves got seven points and a game-high seven boards from Washington while Tolbert had a career-high eight assists.
 
The Wolves now face another tough road test against 12th-ranked Valdosta State on Saturday.
 
"Valdosta State hasn't lost since their first conference game of the year against Lee. They're really tough defensively and they are tough on the boards. They play with a lot of emotion," Reitz said of Saturday's opponent. "It's another game where we battled here, we needed to do a better job of closing out the game at home. We're excited, we love these challenge games, we love playing ranked opponents, so will be ready to roll on Saturday."
 
Tip-time on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. from The Complex in Valdosta as the Wolves take on the Blazers in league play for the final time.