Photo by Chuck Edgeworth

The hole was just too deep as a second half comeback fell short and the Lady Chargers fell 79-71 to West Alabama on Saturday night at Spragins Hall. With the loss, UAH remained winless in the Gulf South Conference at 0-5 and slipped to 3-15 overall. Meanwhile, West Alabama improved to 5-16 and 2-3 with their third consecutive win.

West Alabama controlled the first half behind the shooting of guard Lacey Griffin who dropped in 18 points in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Tigers had a comfortable 38-23 lead at halftime.

In the opening moments of the second half, the Lady Chargers came out firing, slicing the UWA lead in half with a 7-0 run. A 3-pointer by Vacie Perry cut the deficit to 40-33 with 17:49 left.

West Alabama fought off the Lady Charger threat and pushed their lead back up to 12 at 61-49, but UAH rallied down the stretch to close within two points. Amber Whitt's layup with 2:28 left trimmed the UWA lead to 67-65.

A fieldgoal and a pair of freethrows by Larrenda Rockwell gave the Lady Tigers a 71-65 cushion with less than two minutes left. Monica Boatwright answered with a three-point-play to cut the lead to 71-68 with 1:53 left.

After a missed shot on the next possession for UWA, UAH had a chance to tie or close to within a point. However, Whitt's layup attempt was blocked by Latashia Greer and the Lady Chargers wouldn't get another chance.

Perry paced the Lady Chargers with 18 points off the bench. She was 5-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. She also knocked down 5-of-6 freethrows. Renita Lewis added 13 points and six rebounds, while Boatwright chipped in 10 points.

After a red-hot first half, Griffin was held to two points in the second and finished with 20. Keiara Middleton contributed 13 points, while Greer and Erin Courington dropped in 11 each. Greer also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Chargers hope to stop a seven game slide when they host West Florida on Feb. 6 at Spragins Hall.

Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. UAH hit only 4-of-18 shots (22%), while VSU was worse at 20%, making only 7-of-35 fieldgoals. The result was a 20-20 score at halftime.

The game remained tight in the second half with neither team able to pull away. A 3-pointer by Andrea Bennett with 7:08 left, got the Lady Chargers with two at 48-46. But, UAH couldn't find the basket in the last seven minutes, while VSU went on a 15-2 run to put the game on ice.

Monica Boatwright led UAH with 15 points, while Bennett hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12.

Leschelle Matthews scored a game-high 17 points to lead Valdosta State (11-7 and 4-0). Sczeny Harty added 10 points, while Sierra Nixon tallied nine points and 16 rebounds and Tamika Booker contributed eight points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Lady Chargers were 14-of-44 for 31.8% from the field. Meanwhile, VSU shot 32.3 %, making 21-of-65 shots.The Lady Blazers also outrebounded UAH 47-34.

The Lady Chargers return home on Saturday, Jan. 30 to host West Alabama.

UAH shot a dismal 17.9 percent in the first half, making only 5-of-28 fieldgoal attempts, three coming from 3-point range. Meanwhile, West Georgia knocked down 56 percent (17-of-30) of their shots and build a commanding 43-17 halftime lead. 

The Lady Chargers got off to a good start when Amber Whitt hit a 3-pointer to start the game. But, West Georgia blew past UAH with a 28-5 run and the Lady Chargers had no answer.

The Lady Wolves managed to only hit 19 percent in the second half and scored only 19 points. However, UAH scored only 21 points and never threatened.

For the game, the Lady Chargers shot 23 percent from the field, hitting only 11-of-47 fieldgoals. West Georgia made 37 percent of their shots.

Sophomore guard Candace Lee led UAH with 10 points and seven rebounds.

West Georgia was led by Whitney Mayberry who finished with 16 points. Thomassian Wyatt added 11 points and Charlease Williams dropped in 10.

The Lady Chargers remain on the road on Saturday facing another tough foe in Valdosta State.

Freshman guard Vacie Perry led the Lady Chargers with 16 points off the bench. Candace Lee added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Amber Whitt pulled down 11 rebounds and Renita Lewis swatted away eight shots.

Niala Harris had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead UNA. Dana Jackson contributed 11 points, while Jameica York dropped in 10 points and had seven rebounds.

The game was not a work of art as both offenses struggled shooting and committed numerous miscues. For the game, UNA only shot 26.5 percent (18-for-68) from the field and turned the ball over 22 times. On the other side, the Lady Chargers had 27 turnovers and shot only 31 percent (19-for-61) from the field.