Jan. 26, 2008
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Argonauts stepped up the defense to shut down the Montevallo Falcons, 70-62 Saturday afternoon. The West Florida defense forced 27 turnovers, while Tiffany Scott and Amy Drake combined for seven steals. In a game in which neither team shot well from the field, thanks to great defense by both teams, the Argos took advantage at the free throw line, connecting on 23 of 30 free throws. Drake hit six consecutive free throws to help seal the win for West Florida, who improved to 8-11 on the season, and 1-3 in the conference.
Dominique Boykins led West Florida with 15 points and seven rebounds, and it was her old fashioned three point play with five minutes to play which turned a five point lead into an eight point lead. From that point on, the Argonauts connected on 13 of 16 free throws to seal the win. Chelsea Patterson scored 12 points for the Argonauts, included twice scoring on driving lay-ups just after Montevallo closed to within five points midway thru the second half, which prevented the Falcons from gaining any momentum.
Head Coach Shannan Bergen was pleased with the team effort, "It was great to get our first conference win, after a couple of tough losses, and I am really proud of how hard all our kids played. Everyone played hard, but I think Tip (Tiffany Scott) helped set the tone with some tenacious defense and everyone that was in the game for us today, fed off that and contributed with great defensive effort. Our goal is to finish our last eight games strong and leave it all out on the court."
Defense was the theme of the contest, and even the players that played the least minutes helped contribute defensively. Caitlin Salak contributed with a blocked shot, and Chelsea Turgeon came in to get a steal and three rebounds, in their combined 10 minutes of play. The Argos had 14 steals and six blocked shots, and held Montevallo to only 37% shooting from the field. Tara Russ and Renee' Polk also contributed with blocked shots to help shut down the Falcons.
West Florida led 25-20 at halftime, and Montevallo (5-14, 1-3 GSC) outscored the Argos 9-4 to start the second half and tie the game at 32. Drake hit a three pointer to give UWF the lead back, and the Falcons could never get any closer than within two points the rest of the way. Tiffany Johnson had an outstanding performance for Montevallo, with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals. Meanwhile, Tiffany Scott stepped up for UWF and scored eight points, with five assists, and three steals. Renee' Polk added eight points, while Karmeshia Easley scored five points. Samantha Schlaegel scored four points, and had two steals and two blocked shots.
West Florida started a little sluggish, and trailed 6-1, and then 11-3 with 11:35 to go in the first half. Easley had scored the only three points for West Florida to that point, and then Polk hit a three pointer to get the Argos on track, and Patterson scored on consecutive driving layups and cut the deficit to 11-10. The Argos took their first lead of the game with 5:31 left in the first half, on a jump shot by Schlaegel to go up 16-14. Back to back three pointers by Jessie Ivey and Scott put West Florida up by nine and they went into halftime with a five point lead.
The Argonauts will head back on the road for a Monday night game with West Alabama. Game time is 5:30 pm, as the first part of a doubleheader with the men. Both games will be broadcast on Stretch Internet. The Stretch internet link can be found on the left column of the UWF Athletics Home page (www.goargos.com).
