Dec. 6, 2005
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Both teams took turns owning a half of basketball tonight. West Florida won the first and St. Mary's won the second, and the game, 75-67.
Jessie Ivey's three-pointer moments after coming in off the bench tied the game 62-62 at 2:33. St. Mary's made their free-throws down the stretch and the Argos committed three costly turnovers in their come back effort. West Florida ran into foul trouble when Melissa Nafzger recorded her fourth foul at 10:01. She fouled out with 1:52 left to play. Erin Vierling played the last 5:56 with four fouls.
St. Mary's finished the first half strong and that effort carried over to the start of the second half. The Rattlers put together a 28-12 run that UWF never answered. The Argos drop to 5-2, while St. Mary's improves to 4-4.
West Florida was led by Vierling's 21 points (15 in the second half). Michelle Gibson, who was named to the all tournament team, scored 16 points with five steals. Lyndsay Munro added eight points. The Rattlers got back into the game by connecting from long range. They made seven of their nine three's in the second half. St. Mary's drained 26-for-30 free throws to UWF's 8-for-11. The Rattlers were led by Dawn Killian's 16 points and Flavia Azinheira's 15. Juliett Williams added 11 rebounds and eight points.
The Argonauts fell behind early, 11-7 to start the game. West Florida flipped the switch at both ends of the floor from that point on. Eleven unanswered points spirited a 21-4 run that put UWF ahead 28-15. West Florida's largest lead was 15 points at 36-21. St. Mary's scored the final five points of the first half including a three-pointer at the buzzer by Natalie Gamez and UWF led 36-26 at halftime.
The Argos limited the Rattlers to 26.7% shooting in the first half, including 2-for-12 from three-point distance. They also forced 12 turnovers, while committing only seven. St. Mary's stayed close by controlling the boards, 24-14. West Florida was limited to three offensive rebounds, however the Argos shot 48.4% from the field, including 5-for-5 from the line. Seven Argos scored in the first half. Gibson led UWF with nine first half points. St. Mary's Flavia Azinheira's 11 points helped keep the Rattlers within striking distance.
West Florida hosts Albany State on Monday, Dec. 12 at 5:30 pm.
