CARROLLTON, Ga. - Another piece of history was made on Wednesday night at The Coliseum. Hosting the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the first Atlantic Sun Conference game at The Coliseum, the UWG women's basketball team defeated EKU, 71-64.
West Georgia (7-7, 1-2 ASUN) never trailed in the game, and led by as much as 17 over EKU (11-5, 1-2 ASUN) in a physical game that featured 48 combined fouls.
"We're celebrating tonight, and that's worth celebrating," said head coach Joanna Reitz following the historic win, "They were picked fourth in the conference, we were picked 12th, they received votes in the mid-major 25 and for our players to come out and lead the entire game, that was just a great effort from the tip-off and I'm really proud of our players."
Three Wolves scored in double-figures, led by 16 points from sophomore Sydne Tolbert while the Wolves got 14 from Amanda Blake and 13 from Destiny Jones.
The Wolves' defensive effort was key in the win, holding the Colonels to 31.7 percent from the field and a 3-of-18 clip from beyond the arc.
"We prepare and that starts with the coaching staff, you know, Todd (Webb) did a great job scouting, and then the players buy-in," Reitz said. "And the players applied what we worked on in practice and made them take tough shots and I thought we executed the game plan really well."
West Georgia came out red hot on both sides of the ball. The Wolves opened the game on a 7-0 run and the defense held EKU to 0-for-12 to open the game, with the Colonels' first successful field goal coming at the 3:19 mark of the first quarter.
Taking a 17-9 lead into the second quarter, UWG's offense cooled off and shot 5-for-14 from the field in the second quarter to end the half at a 44 percent clip. Meanwhile, EKU's offense slowly came to life, but the Wolves still held the Colonels to 14 points and extended their lead to as much as 14 late in the half before taking an 11 point lead into the locker room.
EKU came out of the break and scored the first six points to cut the UWG lead to five. West Georgia then answered with a 15-4 lead, eventually reaching their largest lead of the game, 17, with 25 seconds left in the third.
In the final quarter, EKU outscored the Wolves 28-18, but down the stretch, UWG made it count, shooting 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the final quarter to seal the victory.
"We needed that. That's what great teams do, and we made them when we needed to," Reitz added, "And that can kind of guarantee the win down the stretch when you can make the free throws knowing they're coming to foul. And our players prepare for that and they're ready for those moments."
Along with Tolbert's 16, the Wolves got a double-double from Destiny Jones, her fourth of the season, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda Blake had a career-high 14 in the win, and pulled down eight boards.
"Those two did a great job and I think the post players took it personal after we had some things to grow from on our Florida trip," Reitz concluded. "They worked really hard the last few days in practice to make sure we don't get outworked in the post again, and those two answered the call and did a great job."
Grace O'Gara and K'Nari Holliday each had nine points in the win.
The Wolves remain home on Saturday, hosting Lipscomb in another ASUN battle at 2 p.m. on January 11.
