Box Score: PDF | HTML

CLEVELAND, Miss. – The West Florida women's basketball team had struggled in the third quarter all season, but that proved to be the catalyst for UWF on Thursday as the came from seven down to defeat No. 22 Delta State, 64-58, at Sillers Coliseum.
 
UWF (13-7, 11-5 Gulf South) shot 38 percent against the leading defense in the conference, but turned in its own outstanding effort on the defensive end, holding the Lady Statesmen to just 30 percent overall and 23 percent after halftime.
 
The Argos remain tied for fourth in the league standings but are just a game out of second with six games in the regular season.
 
The win snapped Delta's 15-game home win streak and was the fifth-consecutive win for the Argos over the Lady Statesmen.

It also marked UWF's third win over a ranked opponent this year. 
 
Sophomore Toni Brewer led four Argos in double figures as she recorded her team-leading sixth double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate Courtney Meyer had 14 points and seven boards but was as efficient in the second half as she has been all year, going for 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting, five rebounds, one assist, one block and a steal.
 
"We talked (at halftime) about how it was going to be a tight, physical game," UWF head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "We needed to stick with our defensive game plan.
 
"We kept them off the boards and that helped us get our offense going. Delta makes you play a physical game and we accepted that. We were still able to make plays, find teammates and get through screens."
 
Juniors Alex Coyne and Katie Bobos were also in double figures for the Argonauts, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
UWF was 20-of-27 at the foul line and 15-of-20 in the second half.
 
Delta State (15-4, 12-4) was led by Chelsey Rhodes who posted 17 points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
After the Lady Statesmen scored the first four points in the game, the Argos responded with a 10-0 run for a 10-4 lead. DSU came back with an 11-2 run for a 15-12 lead after the first 10 minutes. A back-and-forth second quarter saw the home team go into the locker room with a 26-25 lead.
 
UWF opened the third by making five of its first 11 shots while using a 10-2 edge on the glass to its advantage. The Argos 12-4 run turned the halftime deficit into a 37-30 lead at the midway point of the period.
 
The Lady Statesmen then cut into the Argos' lead and made it a 49-44 contest with just over 8:00 remaining. UWF found their stroke offensively with 7-0 run to stretch the lead to its largest of the night, 56-44.
 
Delta State went on a 7-0 run of its own to work the deficit down to 58-55 with just under two minutes left. The Argos responded with a Brewer free throw and an acrobatic layup by Coyne to make it a 2-possession game. Meyer came up big at the defensive end with a blocked shot and the Argos locked down defensively in the closing minutes, holding the Lady Statesmen to just 1-of-6 in the final 90 seconds.

DSU entered with the No. 1 scoring defense in the country but allowed a season-worst 64 to UWF. The Argos also scored 57 in the win over the Lady Statesmen in December.
 
UWF will return to play on Saturday when it takes on Mississippi College (5-14, 3-13) in Clinton, Miss. Tip-off at A.E. Wood Coliseum is 2:00 p.m.