CARROLLTON, Ga. - The UWG women's basketball team ground out their third-straight Atlantic Sun Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, taking down their renewed rival, North Alabama, by a 62-53 decision.
The defense was crucial in the win for West Georgia (11-14, 5-9 ASUN), as the Wolves held North Alabama (12-13, 7-7 ASUN) to 31.3 percent from the field and limited the Lions to just four three-pointers in the first meeting between the teams in Carrollton since both school were Division II foes in 2018.
Head coach Joanna Reitz was pleased with her team's effort on Saturday at home, even when things didn't necessarily go West Georgia's way.
"Tough teams find a way to win in February, and that's what we continue to do," said Reitz. "We've still got to get better, but I'm proud of how our players stuck with it, they keep fighting and they keep working, and that's what it's about this time of year."
Four Wolves scored in double-figures, helping the Wolves fight off numerous late runs from the Lions, outlasting North Alabama. Zuriyah Davis led with 16 points off the bench while Amanda Blake and Becca Ledford had 11. The final player in double-figures was Destiny Jones who had 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to notch her seventh carer double-double.
West Georgia took the lead for good at the 4:48 mark of the opening quarter, and used a solid second quarter on both sides of the floor to create a 12-point advantage.
It was back-and-forth in the opening quarter, with the Wolves leading 16-13 after 10 minutes of play. West Georgia forced five second quarter turnovers with their pressure defense, and scored eight points off of turnovers in the opening half.
The Lions managed just six points in the second quarter and West Georgia spread their 31 first-half points over seven different scorers, led by nine from Amanda Blake.
UNA opened the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the UWG lead in half and eventually got within five before three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Davis extended the advantage back to 11.
Another run for UNA before the end of the period got the Lions within three points before a three from Ledford, followed by a steal and dish to Davis who scored to give the Wolves an extra cushion heading into the final quarter.
The final quarter was back-and-forth, with the Wolves' defense making up for a tough night at the free throw line for UWG, who finished 13-of-27 from the stripe.
The defense held their opponent under 60 points for the third straight game, a big reason the Wolves notched their third consecutive win.
"To be able to do that in conference is huge," Reitz added, "We just try to keep taking steps forward and we're back to work Monday and see if we can keep it going. A three-game streak in February is huge."
The Wolves are back in action on Thursday, hosting Stetson in a 5:30 p.m. game inside The Coliseum.
