PENSACOLA, Fla. – Zoe Piller had 15 points and 15 rebounds and the UWF women's basketball team scored the final six points for a hard-fought, 52-43, win over West Alabama at the UWF Field House on Thursday.
 
Piller made all three of her shots in the fourth quarter as the Argonauts outscored the Tigers 19-11 in the final 10 minutes.
 
UWF (8-5, 8-3 Gulf South) shot just 38 percent but made 9-of-12 in the crucial final frame. The Argos held a 44-32 rebounding edge and got two huge putbacks in the fourth to maintain the momentum late. They finished with 12 second chance points on 14 offensive rebounds as the extended their winning streak to three games.
 
"This was an impressive game for both teams and there was tremendous effort for every player," UWF head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton said. "It was a challenging game because both teams were playing great defense and shots weren't coming easy.
 
"I thought we did a better job in the second half of crashing the glass. Us and West Alabama are the top two rebounding teams in the league and they do a great job of boxing out and are super athletic."
 
Jaden Langford was the only other Argo in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Jaclyn Jarnot had six points and 10 rebounds.
 
Points were at a premium in the first quarter as the Argos held a 8-7 lead after the opening 10 minutes. The Tigers shot 20 percent and the Argos were at 25 percent. Things weren't much different as the teams went into the locker room with UWF holding a 20-16 edge.
 
In the third, Moriah Taylor made back-to-back baskets to stretch the UWF lead to 40-34. First she used a Piller ball screen to drive to the basket for a layup and then hit a step-back three on the next possession.
 
The Tigers pulled within a basket on a pair of Bria Dent buckets and later on a Zoe Watts triple that trimmed the margin to 46-43 with 2:01 left. But that was as close as the visitors would get. 
 
UWF got contact on layups from Piller and Jarnot and an offensive putback from Haylee Luttrell to ice the game.
 
UWA (7-6, 6-5) shot 33 percent as it dropped its third-straight contest. Dent led the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
 
UWF will continue its home weekend when it plays host to Alabama Huntsville (3-12, 3-8) on Saturday at 2 p.m.