* This is the 36th season of West Florida women's basketball. UWF has an all-time record of 486-456 (.516) in 942 games. UWF is 167-140 (.546) in 21 seasons of Gulf South Conference play. The Argonauts have made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the last two seasons. UWF won its first-ever GSC Championship two years ago.
* After playing its first three games away from home, UWF is in the midst of a season-long 3-game homestand. The Argos have gone 23-9 at the UWF Field House over the past three seasons (1-1 in 2015-16 & 11-4 each of the past two years).
ABOUT UWF
* Fourth-year head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton has four starters and eight letterwinners back from last year's 20-win squad that finished second in the GSC regular season.
* In 2014-15 UWF advanced to the NCAA South Region Semifinals for the third time in school history and finished with its highest winning percentage (.670) since 2005-06. The Argos have won 39 games in the two previous seasons.
* UWF is 2-3 on the season and saw its 2-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday following a 65-58 loss to Alabama Huntsville. The Argos are scoring 60.0 ppg while allowing 61.4 ppg.
* The Argos are shooting 37.6 pct from the floor, which ranks seventh in the GSC. They are shooting 33.9 pct from outside which is fourth in the league, but their 4.0 made 3FGs per game are among the lowest in the nation, ranking 232nd. UWF has been very effective at the free throw line, making 80.5 pct - a figure that is third in the GSC and 24th nationally - after converting on 12-of-13 against the Chargers on Wednesday.
* A trio of players in senior Jasmine Wigfall (12.2 ppg), junior Katie Bobos (11.6 ppg) and sophomore Toni Brewer (10.4 ppg) are all averaging double figures in scoring for UWF. Brewer lead the squad on the glass with 6.6 rpg, followed closely by6-2 sophomore Kelly Preston with 6,6 per game and Bobos at 6.4 per game.
ABOUT NORTH ALABAMA
* UNA is 1-5 on the season and brings a 3-game losing streak into Saturday's game. The Lions dropped their GSC opener at Caldosta State on Thursday, 76-63.
* The Lions are averaging 66.3 points per game, including just 14.2 points in each of the first and fourth quarters. UNA has struggled on the boards, being outrebounded by at least nine in each of its five setbacks. Valdosta held a 40-11 margin in the last outing.
SERIES HISTORY
* UWF and North Alabama leads 24-18 in a series that has been marked by long runs of dominance by each team. UWF won 11 of the first 13 matches before UNA picked up four wins in a row in the series. The Argos bested that mark with seven consecutive wins from 2003-06, while UNA won 10 of 11 from 2007-12. Under the direction of head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton, West Florida is 5-3 against UNA with four consecutive wins. In the last four games between these teams, UWF has won by an average score of 70-55.
* Last season UWF earned a win when the two teams played on January 22 in Pensacola. Both Brewer (20p/11r) and Jasmine Wigfall (13p/16r) recorded double-doubles in the comeback victory at the UWF Field House. West Florida dominated the glass, outrebounding UNA 50-34 overall, and 23-5 on the offensive end. Those offensive rebounds proved to be the difference, as UWF scored 15 second-chance points to UNA's 1.
FREE THROW SHOOTING MAY BE KEY COMPONENT TO SUCCESS
* The UWF offense has been a bit eratic with its shooting this season, failing to produce consecutive 40-percent shooting games at any point through five contests. The Argonauts have been able to maintain leads or stay competitive with some very strong free throw shooting. UWF is converting at an 81 pct. clip entering Saturday's game, a figure that ranks second in the GSC (UAH) and seventh nationally.
* The Argos have been especially efficient over the last two games, making 26-of-28 (93%) in those home outings.
WIGFALL CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
* Senior G Jasmine Wigfall enters the UNA game with 906 career points over 89 games. If she hits the 1k mark, she would be just the 10th player in program history to achieve the milestone and the first since Amy Drake suring the 2009-10 season.
COYNE DROPPING DIMES
* Junior transfer Alex Coyne has definitely made her presence felt at the PG spot thus far. Since transferring from Southern Miss over the summer, the Pittsburgh, Pa. product has averaged 6.8 assists per game, with a season-opener of six, followed by four-straight 7-assist efforts. She is currently ranked eighth in the country in helpers.
* As good as she is with the ball, she has proven to be just as dangerous without it, collecting a team-high 18 steals for a 3.6 per game average. That ranks 13th in the country.
BREWER & WIGFALL NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
* UWF sophomore Toni Brewer and senior Jasmine Wigfall were both among the 5-member preseason all-conference squad voted on by the GSC head coaches last month.
* Brewer is the reigning GSC Freshman of the Year after the guard from Huntsville, Ala. averaged 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 2014-15.
* Wigfall – the lone inside player on the 5-member group – posted 12.1 points, 5.8 boards and 2.6 assists last season. The Orlando native is the second-highest returning scorer in the league.
UWF RECEIVED VOTES IN USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 POLL
* UWF found itself among the other's receiving votes in the USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 preseason coaches poll. The Argos received 61 points and are the second team listed in the "others receiving votes." This marks the first time under fourth-year head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton that the team has received votes and the first since the final poll of the 2005-06 season.
* The Argonauts were one of four NCAA South Region schools to appear in the rankings, along with No. 4 Nova Southeastern, No. 13 Union and No. 20 Tampa.
* In early October, UWF was tabbed 24th-nationally by the Women's Division II Bulletin in their preseason top-25 poll. UWF was one of just two South Region teams in the ranking, joining No. 3 Nova Southeastern.
UWF PICKED 2ND IN GSC POLL
* UWF was picked to finish second in the Gulf South Conference preseason coaches poll. The Argonauts received 91 total poll points and a league-high six (of 11) first place votes. Defending champion Union was picked first with 92 points and three first place votes.
NEW LOOK FOR UWF FIELD HOUSE FLOOR
* The UWF Field House floor received a new paint scheme over the summer, with an emphasis on cleaner design and less color. The court now features a darker wood stain in the lane and a similar darker stained GSC logo near midcourt on opposite sides of the floor.
* The 4-foot restricted arc in the lane was added in preparation for its implementation at the Division II level next season.
* The Argonaut head at midcourt remained in color as did the navy blue border that surrounds the court.
* Social media identifiers of '#GoArgos' and '@GoArgos' were placed in front of the bench areas.
NCAA RULES CHANGES
* The NCAA made a number of rules changes to both the men's and women's games this season. Some of the more visible changes in the women's game include:
* Periods - Playing time for games shall consist of four ten-minute periods.
* Option to Advance the Ball - When a timeout is charged to the offensive team during the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth period and/or any extra period(s), the team has the option to advance the throw-in spot to the 28-foot mark in the front court on the same side of the court as the scorers' table.
* In games using electronic-media timeouts, each team will have three 30-second timeouts and 1 full timeout (60 seconds in length). There is one electronic-media timeout in each period. The break between the first and second, as well as between the third and fourth periods, may be used as an electronic-media timeout. The first team-called timeout in the second half will becomes an electronic-media timeout.
* Free Throws - A team is awarded two free throws for each common foul beginning with the fifth team foul in a period.
* 10-Second Back Court - The 10-second count shall reset on all stoppages of the game clock except when the defense causes the ball to be out of bounds, the offense retains possession after a held ball, or there is a technical foul assessed to the offensive team.
* Officiating Guidelines - Displacement - When an offensive post player with her back to the basket in the lane area is in control of the ball, a post defender may only place one forearm or one hand with a bend in the elbow on the offensive player.
