CARROLLTON, Ga. - Behind a quartet of double-digit scorers, the UWG women's basketball team remained undefeated at home with a 77-64 Atlantic Sun Conference victory over the Queens Royals on Saturday afternoon.
West Georgia (13-6, 6-2 ASUN) got 19 from Sydne Tolbert, 17 from Grace O'Gara, 14 from Asia Donald, and 10 from Destiny Jones as they took care of business against Queens (7-12, 1-7 ASUN). It improved the Wolves to 11-0 at home this season.
"Another good win for our program," said head coach Joanna Reitz following the win. "I thought we did a pretty good job for three quarters. There were points in the third quarter where I thought we could have separated more than we did, but we did a couple of things to let them hang around. And then we didn't finish that game as well as we could have."
UWG outscored the Royals 61-41 through three quarters before the Royals hit five three-pointers in the final period and outscored the Wolves 23-16 in the last 10 minutes.
"But we had four in double-figures, so we continue to be versatile, and I'm proud of the team for that," Reitz added, "Especially after the week we had with travel, getting in at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. So to finish the week out with a win, I'm really proud of them."
The Wolves shot 55.6 percent from the field, their third-highest clip of the season, and were 8-of-9 from the free throw line in the win.
Jasmine Jones and Grace O'Gara got the offense started, hitting threes on back-to-back possessions to give the Wolves the early 6-0 lead. Queens wasn't fazed by the fast start as their defense forced seven UWG turnovers by the end of the quarter, they had cut the lead to just one as the Wolves were up,15-14.
The second quarter started with a 7-0 run by the Wolves, and the lead grew to as much as 15 in the period before the Wolves took a 12-point lead into the break. Asia Donald led the offense with 10 first half points.
UWG came out hot in half number two, extending their lead to 20 at the 6:13 mark of the third on a Sydne Tolbert three-pointer, forcing a timeout by the visitors. Tolbert ended the period scoring eight of the Wolves' 17 points in the period, and the Wolves led 61-41 at the start of the final quarter.
Queens outscored the Wolves in the final quarter, but it was too little, too late for the visitors as UWG handed them their seventh consecutive loss.
Gal-la font led the Wolves on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds while Grace O'Gara grabbed seven. O'Gara also had a game-high five assists while Tolbert dished out three.
UWG now sets its sights on a Thursday showdown with EKU, who defeated North Florida on Saturday to improve to 8-0 in ASUN play.
"We went to EKU and it was a tough place to play up there, so we said we need to return the favor here," said Reitz, "So we need Carrollton, this university, and community to show up and support this team. Again, they are worth supporting, they work hard, they play together, and do things the right way, so we need you."
Tip-time for Thursday's game is set for 7 p.m. ET from The Coliseum.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- While UWG is 11-0 at home this season, they have now won 12 consecutive at home dating back to the finale of the 2024-25 season.
- UWG's 55.6 percent clip from the field is the third-best of the season behind the win at Bellarmine (59.6 percent) and the home win over UNC Wilmington (56.9 percent).
- Tolbert is now third in the league in scoring through eight ASUN games, averaging 15.9 per contest. The junior from Louisville is one steal away from becoming the first UWG player since 2018-19 with more than 500 points, 200 rebounds, 200 assists, and 100 steals in a career.
