No. 9 West GA Tech earns Statement win crushing unbeaten Southern Union 81-59
CARROLLTON, Georgia -- The West Georgia Tech women's basketball team was hungry for a statement win. They got it Wednesday evening in front of an overflow crowd.
What makes the win even more impressive is the fact that the Golden Knights are an NJCAA D-III program while Southern Union competes on the NJCAA D-I level.
WGTC is 12-4 on the year, with wins in 9 of its last 10. Six of those wins have come against NJCAA D-I programs and two others were against Carver College, which is a four-year program. Southern Union dropped to 13-1.
West Georgia Tech was equally effective on the offensive end of the floor. The Knights shot 50.9 percent (28 of 55) from the field and connected on 6 of 12 from three-point range.
Iasia Early led four players in double figures for West Georgia Tech with a 17-point effort.
Kia Jefferson scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Golden Knights.
"I love the fact that everyone that went out there played their guts out," Edwards said. "The team really wanted to get the win tonight and they played with the kind of effort that we are looking for, which is the kind of effort that it takes to win championships."
Southern Union opened the second half strong, with an 8-0 run to close to within 15, at 43-28. But WGTC stymied the comeback by holding the Lady Bison to just three points over the next six minutes of action. WGTC's lead after the third quarter was 64-36.
"Our freshmen came in and played like we have been teaching them to play," Edwards said. "It takes a while for them to catch on, but they sparked us early tonight. And our five sophomores all contributed big minutes as well. The leadership from those five has been tremendous. This win tonight will give us some confidence heading into conference play next Monday."
West Georgia Tech, playing with a chip on its shoulder after failing to make a second-straight appearance in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament last year, looks like a team playing with something to prove. The journey continues next Monday.