CARROLLTON, Ga. – A fourth quarter defensive clinic propelled the UWG women's basketball team to a second consecutive win on Saturday afternoon as the Wolves defeated Alabama Huntsville, 74-62 in their return to The Coliseum for the first time in over two weeks.
 
West Georgia (14-10, 10-10 GSC) trailed by 13 with 2:52 left in the third quarter to Alabama Huntsville (8-15, 7-13 GSC), but held the Chargers to just two points over the final 10 minutes to force a 25-point swing and win by 12.
 
"I think it came down to resiliency and poise," said head coach Joanna Reitz. "That was a frustrating game from a lot of different angles. We missed a lot of shots that we normally hit and we had a tough time getting stops, especially in the third quarter, but we kept fighting, kept our heads, and we stayed together."
 
Not to be outdone by the defensive effort in the final quarter, UWG's offense had six players in double-figures, led by 15 from Jada Powell and 14 from Zuriyah Davis. Sydne Tolbert chipped in with 13 while the trio of Katelyn Dunning, Mykah Anderson, and K'Nari Holliday each had 10.
 
Out of the gate, it was tight as there were six lead changes in the opening half. At the first media timeout, UAH led 6-5, but a quick 7-0 run out of the timeout put West Georgia up 12-6 late in the quarter. The Chargers then went on a 10-3 run in the final 1:11 of the period to again lead by one after a quarter.
 
Alabama Huntsville edged the Wolves 20-19 in the second quarter, although it was back-and-forth. Sydne Tolbert and Zuriyah Davis led the Wolves with eight points in the first half, but it was Katelyn Dunning's layup with three seconds left that cut the UWG halftime deficit to just two points at 36-34.
 
A 15-9 UAH run to open up the third, forced Reitz into a timeout as UAH went up 51-43. By the end of the period, it was a 60-51 UAH lead.
 
But an 8-0 Wolves run to start the fourth fired up the home crowd, pulling West Georgia within one at 60-59. West Georgia's first lead since 6:20 in the second quarter came as KNari Holliday knocked down two at the free throw line, making it 63-62, UWG with 5:48 left in the game. The Wolves went right back to Holliday on the next possession and she converted to get to double-figures and extend the lead to three.
 
"Finally, in the fourth quarter, defensively, we did a better job protecting the paint, and then offensively, we finally started hitting shots and scoring inside," Reitz added. "I just felt like it took us a long time to get in rhythm."
 
West Georgia didn't score again until the 3:02 mark when Zuriyah Davis cashed in an offensive rebound and doubled the lead with a three-pointer. But the defense held strong and West Georgia finished off the game outscoring the Chargers 23-2 in the final quarter.
 
"We talk about poise, we talk about resilience, we talk about 40 minutes, and that was put to the test tonight, and the players answered the call," concluded Reitz.
 
West Georgia will now be back on the road on Wednesday, taking on the Lee Flames in a 5:30 p.m. contest from Cleveland, Tennessee.