University of West Florida

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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Toni Brewer led all players with 25 points and Alex Coyne sparked a 14-4 run in the final 3:36 to help the UWF women's basketball team to a 77-71 win over Valdosta State in the Gulf South Conference opener at the UWF Field House Monday.
 
UWF (6-1, 1-0) shot a season-low 36 percent but got huge contributions late from Coyne and fellow senior Katie Bobos to defeat VSU for the fifth time in the last seven meetings.
 
Trailing 69-63 with just under four minutes to play, Bobos drained a three before a layup by Coyne brought the Argonauts within one. Bobos blocked a Valdosta short jumper that led to a scoring opportunity as Coyne made a pair of free throws to give UWF its first lead since late in the third quarter.
 
Coyne then connected on a triple and got another layup to fall, putting the Argos ahead 75-71 with 1:09 remaining. Coyne had a pair of defensive boards and Bobos tracked down an offensive carom with 10 tics left to preserve the victory.
 
Brewer added to her double-double streak, finishing with 13 rebounds for her seventh of the year. Coyne handed out nine assists to go along with 11 points and two steals.
 
Bobos moved closer to the 1,000-point plateau with 15 points, giving her 993 in her career. Imani Mulmore and Belle Bistrow each added 10 off the bench.
 
The Argos had a 23-10 edge in points off turnovers, capitalizing on 23 Blazer miscues. UWF committed a season-low seven turnovers.
 
Valdosta State (3-4, 0-1) got 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists from Madi Mitchell. Kenya Samone' Dixon made four 3-pointers on her way to 18 points and eight boards.
 
Coming into the game, VSU was the team that usually had the fast opening frame. But on Monday, it was the Argonauts who jumped out to the 22-11 lead thanks to seven points from Brewer and five apiece from Bistrow, Bobos and Mulmore. The margin was as many as 16 five times before the Blazers closed to within 30-20 at the intermission.
 
VSU carried its success into the third quarter, using an 18-6 run to take a 48-46 lead midway through the session. The score was tied four times throughout the remainder of the game before the Argos seized control in the final minutes of the fourth.
 
UWF will hit the road this weekend, beginning Thursday at 6:00 p.m. when it faces Union (5-2, 1-1) in Jackson, Tenn. On Saturday, the Argos will meet Christian Brothers at 1:00 p.m. in Memphis.