CARROLLTON, Ga. - The West Georgia Wolves women's basketball team kept the momentum going on Tuesday night, cruising to a 76-31 victory over the Talladega Tornadoes at The Coliseum.
West Georgia (2-3) had four players in double-figures and shot nearly 50 percent from the field, and after a slow start out of the gate, the Wolves outscored Talladega (1-5) 63-20 over the final three quarters.
"We had a sputtery start, but once we settled in we were fine," said head coach Joanna Reitz. "Our defensive effort, holding them to three single-digit quarters, I'm really pleased with that."
Senior guard Zuriyah Davis led UWG's quartet of double-digit scoring, finishing with 20 points. It's her first 20-point performance of the season and the 10th of her career.
Freshman Destiny Jones led UWG's offensive efforts in the first quarter, scoring six of UWG's 13 points.
The Wolves led by just two after one quarter of play, but the home team got a big lift from another freshman Riley Black, who scored 11 first quarter points, to outscore the Tornadoes 21-7 in the second quarter and take a 34-18 lead into the break.
"We needed that lift. We were getting open shots, but we weren't hitting them. Riley has been shooting the ball really, really well in practice, so we went to her, and she answered the call," said Reitz. "Her teammates were hyped about it because they see her do it in practice, but for to come in and build that lead was big. Riley has worked her tail off and put a lot of work into her shot and it paid off and I'm glad she got to showcase that tonight."
Coming out of the locker room, West Georgia kept the petal to the metal, opening on an 11-0 run and finishing out the quarter by leading 53-24.
The final quarter was more of the same as the Wolves outscored Talldega 23-7, emptied the bench getting 10 scorers into the box score. Calie Thrower's three-pointer on UWG's last possession accounted for the final, 45-point margin which was also UWG's largest lead.
West Georgia had a big night on the boards, pulling down 51 rebounds.
"We challenged the team with rebounding tonight, and we ended up winning on the glass by 24 and that's a great effort, and the 19 offensive rebounds is another great effort," Reitz concluded.
The Wolves also dished out 25 assists on 30 makes, led by seven from Grace O'Gara.
Black, as well as Amanda Blake, who started her first game in a UWG uniform, joined Davis in double-figures with 11 while Jones finished the game with 10 on 5-of-8 shooting. Blake's 11 was a career-high for the transfer.
West Georgia now sets their sights on the third game of this three-game homestand, hosting South Carolina State on Friday.
"They'll be tough and scrappy. They play a lot of defenses so we're going to have to be sharp offensively regardless of what they're in," Reitz said of Friday's opponent. "They play tonight against another ASUN team in Queens, so that'll be a good game to see where they're at because they've played a lot of different lineups."
Tip-time on Friday afternoon in The Coliseum is set for 2 p.m.
