CULLOWHEE, N.C. — West Florida (0-2) lost to Western Caro. (2-0) 72-58 Thursday at Liston B. Ramsey Center. West Florida was outrebounded 46-35, including 21 offensive boards for Western Caro. that contributed to a 19-8 second-chance scoring margin.
Finley Kennedy scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and collected five rebounds.
Janai Jordan finished with 11 points and made three 3-pointers.
Nia Coleman added 10 points, three rebounds and a block.
Annarose Tyre recorded six points, four assists and three steals without a turnover.
After Western Caro. scored first, Tyre tied it with a layup,
Giselle Eke put West Florida in front inside, and Jordan hit a 3-pointer off Tyre's assist for a 7-4 lead at 7:54. Christina Bowers' two free throws tied it at 9-9, Kennedy put West Florida back ahead with two free throws, and Kate Hollifield tied it again at 11-11 with two at the line at 2:44. Eke's jumper at 2:14 moved West Florida ahead 13-11, but Western Caro. answered with a My'Asia Young layup after offensive rebounds and an Ally Hollifield free throw to go in front 14-13 with 1:10 left. Tyre's layup at :53 put West Florida back ahead 15-14, and
Sinaya Gibson added a free throw before recording a steal at :00 as West Florida ended the quarter leading 16-14.
West Florida came up empty on early second-chance opportunities, and Hannah Moss tied the game at 16 with a layup at 9:03 before Ally Hollifield's 3-pointer put Western Caro. ahead 19-16. Western Caro. continued the stretch with scoring from Kayla Mount, Moss, My'Asia Young and Ellie Richardson, building a 28-16 lead before Kennedy gave West Florida its first points of the quarter on a layup at 3:53. After Western Caro. reached 34-20 on Young's fastbreak layup at 2:39,
Annarose Tyre's steal led to Kennedy's fastbreak layup and free throw at 2:03 to make it 34-23. Kate Hollifield hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Western Caro. lead to 40-23, but Coleman converted a layup and free throw and Kennedy scored at the buzzer as West Florida went to halftime down 40-28.
Western Caro. scored the first seven points of the third quarter, getting a transition layup from Kayla Mount, two My'Asia Young free throws and a Kate Hollifield 3-pointer before Jordan answered from beyond the arc at 7:06 to make it 47-31.
Presley Hughes and Eke added layups for West Florida in the middle of the quarter, but Western Caro. kept adding inside, including a Camri Hobbs tip-in and a Young layup around the media timeout. Eke blocked a shot with 2:17 left, and Coleman finished in transition shortly after Hughes' layup to bring West Florida to 39-53. Western Caro. closed the quarter with late baskets from Ellie Richardson and Ally Hollifield, plus a Justice Zimmerman free throw and Hollifield jumper in the final 26 seconds, taking a 63-42 lead into the fourth.
After early empty possessions, Jordan hit a fastbreak 3-pointer at 7:54 and Kennedy added a layup to bring West Florida within 63-47. Western Caro. answered through Ellie Richardson, but
Ebba Zalamans' steal led to a Kennedy 3-pointer off an assist from Coleman that made it 65-50. Kate Hollifield hit a 3-pointer and Hannah Moss added two free throws around Kennedy's second-chance layup, moving Western Caro. ahead 70-52 before West Florida got late baskets from Tyre and Zalamans. Camri Hobbs scored inside at 1:27, and Zalamans added a free throw in the closing seconds as Western Caro. finished off a 72-58 win.
Up next, the West Florida basketball team hosts Pensacola Christian on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at UWF Field House in Pensacola, Fla.
