WILMINGTON, N.C. - A season-best performance from the field propelled the UWG women's basketball to a fourth-straight win on Thursday as the Wolves triumphed on the road, 70-66, over the UNC Wilmington Seahawks.
For West Georgia (4-3), who shot nearly 50 percent from the field, it was the first road win of the Division I era. The Wolves held UNC Wilmington (6-4) to 40 percent from the field and gave the Seahawks their second loss in their last eight games.
"I'm proud of the team's effort. We kept fighting, even when things didn't go our way and I thought we did a great job focusing with 2,000 screaming kids and it was so loud. We stayed focused and we stayed together," said head coach Joanna Reitz following the win.
In a game that featured eleven lead changes and seven ties, it was the Wolves who prevailed behind freshman Destiny Jones who had a big day for the Wolves. The Louisville native recorded a second straight double-double with a career-high 15 points to go with 10 rebounds.
UWG had a big advantage down low in the win, scoring 50 points in the paint, nearly doubling UNCW's total of 26 and outrebounding the Seahawks, 40-33. Junior K'Nari Holliday matched Jones' total on the glass with 10.
"Coach Harrison said after the game that there were times that we bent, but we never broke and I thought that was an accurate description of the game," Reitz added.
West Georgia hit three three-pointers in the opening quarter including one from sophomore Grace O'Gara on the Wolves' opening possession. A quick 8-0 run built as much as a six-point lead for the Wolves, but the Seahawks battled back with four three-pointers of their own to regain a lead of their own. Just as the quarter started, O'Gara buried a triple to give the Wolves a four-point lead after 10 minutes.
The two teams continued to trade baskets into the second quarter and at the 4:14 mark, a Becca Ledford layup gave the Wolves a five-point lead. The Seahawks, however, would end the half on a 7-0 run and take a 30-28 lead into the locker room.
UWG's offense came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring UNCW 21-15 in the period to the tune of a 64 percent clip from the field.
"Well, we needed to clean up our shot selection and our turnovers in the second half, and then we started to get some good shots in transition, and I thought our depth really showed in the second half," Reitz continued. "I thought we were able to get some easy ones in transition because we had a little more fresh legs and we were playing faster than them."
West Georgia led the entire fourth quarter, building as much as a 10-point lead with just under four minutes to play. The Seahawks battled back to make it a three-point game and then with 1:17 to go in the game the Wolves got a big and-one from Jones to stretch the UWG advantage back to six.
UNCW then cut it back to two before Davis buried a clutch floater at the 11 second mark, and the Seahawks answered once again to get it to two with six seconds left. UNCW was then forced to foul, and senior Mykah Anderson buried two free throws to put the game away.
"Those two seniors answered the call. We were sputtering a little offensively in the fourth quarter and then Zee (Davis) hit that shot and put a ton of pressure on Wilmington," Reitz said of her seniors' big moments down the stretch. "And then Mykah hitting those two free throws to seal the game. I'm just really proud of them. They're fifth-year seniors and they've prepared for these moments and they're ready for those situations."
Zuriyah Davis finished with 13 points in the win while Sydne Tolbert joined in double-figures with 11. Amanda Blake, Holliday, and O'Gara each chipped in with eight. Jones, who had the double-double, also had a team-high four assists.
For UNCW, Taylor Henderson led all scorers with 18 while Evan Miller added 17.
West Georgia stays on the road for the rest of the week, playing next at Western Carolia on Sunday afternoon.
"They're playing really well and they're a tough team. They've played a few guarantee games where they've been blown out, but they've beat teams they're supposed to beat," Reitz said of Sunday's opponent. "We know it'll be tough because it's always tough to win on the road."
Western Carolina, who hosts Gardner-Webb tomorrow, is currently 5-3 with two of their losses coming at Tennessee and at Oklahoma.
Tip-time for Sunday's game in Cullowhee is set for 2 p.m. from WCU's Ramsey Center.
