* This is the 36th season of West Florida women's basketball. UWF has an all-time record of 498-459 (.520) in 958 games. UWF is 179-142 (.558) 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. n The UWF defense has been a key to the team's success, as the Argos have gone 9-0 when holding opponents to 60 poiPastents or fewer, including six times during their recent 7-game win streak. On Thursday, North Alabama didn't surpass 60 points until a pair of free throws with 45 seconds to play.
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.
* The Argonauts have averaged 65.2 points per game (5th in the GSC) and have allowed 60.8 points per game (7th).
* A trio of players in junior Katie Bobos (13.4 ppg), sophomore Toni Brewer (11.1 ppg) and junior Alex Coyne (10.4 ppg) are all averaging double figures in scoring for UWF. Brewer leads the squad on the glass with 8.0 rpg, followed by Bobos with 7.7 and forwards Courtney Meyer at 6.8 and Kelly Preston with 6.7 per game.
* Junior PG Alex Coyne leads the conference and ranks fourth in Division II with 6.4 assists per game. She has 13 games with six or more assists.
* UWF ranks second in the GSC with 4.1 blocks per game. The Argos have blocked six or more shots four times this season, going 2-2 in those contests.
IT'S CROWDED AT THE TOP
* After opening GSC play with a 1-2 mark, UWF rattled off seven straight victories to find itself in a 5-way tie for first place. The Argos currently sit tied with Lee and Shorter for third place in the conference with an 9-3 record. Delta State and Union are tied for first at 10-2.
ABOUT ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
* UAH has one of the better scoring offenses in the GSC this season, posting 64.0 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. The Chargers allow 59.4 points per game, ranking fifth in the GSC.
* The Chargers' are led in scoring by Dina Saunders (12.3 ppg) and Halle Jarnagin (10.3 ppg), who rank 10th and 19th in the GSC in scoring respectively. Jarnagin also ranks seventh in the conference in rebounding (7.1 rpg). Saunders has also been an elite free throw shooter converting at an 80.4 percent clip, ranking second in the league and 62nd nationally, despite missing both attempts on Thursday.
SERIES HISTORY VS UAH
* West Florida holds a 24-19 all-time record against Alabama Huntsville. The Charges hold a 11-9 edge in Spragins Hall.
* UWF held a nine-game winning streak over the Chargers from 1998-2001, and the Argonauts took eight of ten games from 2004 through 2007. Recent history has favored the Chargers, however, as UAH has won 10 of the last 13 series matchups. West Florida has picked up 11 wins by 15 or more points over the series history.
* UWF is just 2-5 against UAH during head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton's tenure.
* LAST MEETING: Despite holding UAH to just 28 percent shooting and 24 points in the second half, UWF fell to the Chargers, 65-58, on Dec. 2 in Pensacola. Jasmine Wigfall and Toni Brewer reached double-digit points, and Kelly Preston led UWF with nine rebounds. Each team managed just 22 points in the paint, with the Chargers connecting on 11-of-21 from outside.
RECAPPING THURSDAY'S WIN
* UWF had all five starters score in double figures as the Argonauts established season-highs for points and FG shooting in a 86-61 win at North Alabama on Thursday.
* Katie Bobos and Kelly Preston led the Argos offensively, with each scoring 17 points on a combined 14-of-17 shooting with 17 rebounds. Toni Brewer, Alex Coyne and Belle Bistrow each scored in the double digits as well.
* Brewer picked up the lone double-double of the game, adding 10 boards to her 12 points. She and Bobos lead the team with four double-doubles on the year.
* UWF dominated the glass, holding UNA to just 21 rebounds and grabbing 41 of their own. The Argonauts improved to 8-3 on the year when outrebounding their opponents.
* UWF shot a season-best 60 pct (33-of-55) from the floor (including 70 pct in the first half), besting their 50 percent mark against Shorter in mid-December. The Argos made more than half their tries from beyond the arc for the first time this season, totaling six triples in 11 attempts.
BOBOS IS THE COMPLETE PACKAGE
* Junior F Katie Bobos is playing very focused during her third season in Pensacola. The Lowell, Ind., native is averaging 13.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, both of which rank in the top 10 in the GSC - joining Shorter's Taylor Adams as the only players in each top 10.
* The preseason all-GSC pick has posted double figures in 12 of 16 games, including nine in a row from Dec. 5-Jan. 11 in which she averaged 15.1 points and 8.6 rebounds.
* After a season-low four points in the loss at Valdosta Satte last Saturday, she returned to form with 17 on 8-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds and tied her career-high with four assists at North Alabama.
* She enters the UAH game with 788 points and 551 rebounds in 75 career games.
UWF CAREER REBOUNDS
Rk. Player RPG
1. Melissa Nafzger (2003-06) 798
2. Jennifer Bass (1993-97) 685
3. Erin Vierling (2002-06) 674
4. Karly Geller (1999-2002) 609
5. Segeeta Bland (1999-00) 573
6. Lyndsay Munro (2002-06) 552
7. Katie Bobos (2014-pr) 551
HUNTSVILLE NATIVE BREWER RETURNS HOME
* Sophomore F Toni Brewer will be playing her second game in her career back in her hometown of Huntsville on Saturday. The all-state player from Sparkman HS is expecting 20-30 family, friends and former teammates to be at the game.
* Last season, she had 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting, a game-high 13 rebounds and two assists in her first game at Spragins Hall.
* In three games against the Chargers, the 2015 GSC Freshman of the Year has averaged 15.7 points and 13 rebounds with two double-doubles.
COYNE DROPPIN' DIMES
* Junior PG Alex Coyne has stepped into the lineup this season and had an immediate impact on the team's offense. The Southern Miss transfer ranks fourth in country with 6.4 assists per game. She has handed out at least six assists 13 times in 16 games this year.
NCAA DIVISION II STEALS PER GAME
Rk. Player APG
1. Kailee Howe, West Liberty 10.8
2. Kiana Johnson, Virginia Union 9.7
3. Tia Scott, Merrimack 7.1
4. Alex Coyne, West Florida 6.4
5. Katie Fischer, Edinboro 6.3
COYNE OPERATED
* Junior G Alex Coyne has been a workhorse on the floor for the Argos, averaging a GSC-best 37.4 minutes per game. That figure also ranks eighth nationally. She has played all 40 minutes five times and at least 38 minutes in 10 of 16 games. She got a bit of a rest on Thursday, going for just 34 minutes - her second fewest this year.
BATTLING ON THE BOARDS
* UWF has outrebounded its opponents in 11 of 16 games, going 8-3 in those contests.
* The Argos have two players (Toni Brewer, 4th at 8.0 and Katie Bobos, 5th at 7.7) who rank in the top 5 in the GSC in rebounding.
* UWF's Kelly Preston (10th) and Courtney Meyer (11th) also rank in the top 15, making UWF the only team with four of the conference's top 20 rebounders.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
* Six different players (Bistrow, Bobos, Brewer, Coyne, Preston and Wigfall) have led the team in scoring in a game this season.
* Along those same lines, UWF has only had three 20-plus point performances this season and none since Coyne put up 24 against Lee on Dec. 12.
DEFENSE GETTING IT DONE
* The West Florida defense stepped up against Shorter in December, holding the Hawks to just 16 field goals and only six assists, both of which were season lows for UWF opponents.
* UWF nearly matched the feat on Jan. 11, when the Argos held West Georgia and one of the GSC's best scorers, Katrina Littlepage, to just 18 field goals and 7 assists.
* The Argonauts have held opponents to single-digit points in a quarter six times this season.
DOUBLING UP
* West Florida has collected 11 double-doubles this season.
* Katie Bobos and Toni Brewer each have a team-high four, and Alex Coyne, Kelly Preston and Courtney Meyer have one each.
* Bobos, Coyne and Preston combined to put up a team-best three in the win over Mississippi College on Dec. 17. The Argos achieved the same feat on Dec. 5 against North Alabama, when Bobos, Brewer and Meyer each recorded a double-double.
* Meyer came just one block short of a triple-double on against UNA on Dec. 5, as she tied a school record with nine swats against the Lions.
SATURDAY DH AT UAH TELEVISED NATIONALLY
* The UWF basketball programs will receive some national exposure today when their games at Alabama Huntsville on Jan. 23 are televised as part of the American Sports Network's Division II Basketball Showcase.
* The games will stream live on NCAA.com and the NCAA Sports Mobile App. WFGX MyTV 35 in Pensacola/Mobile Ala. will carry the broadcast locally in Northwest Florida/Lower Alabama. .
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.
* In early October, the Argonauts were 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 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.
