PENSACOLA, Fla. –
Rachel McCree scored a career-high for the second-consecutive game but the UWF women's basketball team fell to West Alabama, 65-48, at the UWF Field House on Saturday.
McCree established career highs with 20 points and six 3-pointers. Those six makes are the most this season for UWF and tied for the fifth-most in the GSC. The sophomore made five triples and had 17 in the first half to help UWF play within a point at 29-28.
UWF (5-15, 1-11 Gulf South) shot 29 percent overall and suffered through a pair of scoring droughts at key moments in the contest.
"We finished the first half with 15 turnovers but that's way too many against a zone," UWF head coach
Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "They were going to make us shoot. Rachel had a great performance but we just need a couple more players to get it going to help her.
Danielle Norquest finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The first of the scoring droughts came in early in the game after the Argonauts got out to an 8-0 lead thanks to a pair of triples from McCree. The Tigers scored 10-consecutive over a 4:29 stretch for their first lead on their way to a 18-11 edge after the first quarter.
The 10-0 run extended to 14-0 before McCree halted it with her third long ball of the game, pulling the Argos within 24-14.
With foul trouble hitting the Argos hard down low in the second quarter, they used their speed to close the half on a 17-5 run.
The Tigers led 44-38 after three before using its strength inside to pull away. Tazsa Garrett-Hammett was 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth as she scored nine of her game-high 21 to help UWA with a 21-10 advantage in the final frame.
UWA (9-8, 4-7) shot 39 percent for the game but connected at 50 percent in the final 10 minutes. Garrett-Hammett added 12 rebounds for a double-double and Bria Dent matched that marker with 16 points and 10 boards.
UWF made a season-high eight 3-pointers and was 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
The Argonauts will now hit the flip side of the GSC schedule and play at Auburn Montgomery (10-9, 6-8) on Thursday and West Alabama on Saturday of next week. Thursday's game at the AUM Gymnasium is set to begin at 6 p.m.
