LIVINGSTON, Ala. – West Alabama put together a solid effort on both sides of the court on the way to a 74-54 Gulf South Conference women’s basketball victory over Delta State Saturday at Pruitt Hall Gym. The game was the season opener for both teams.

The Tigers (1-0) and Lady Statesmen (0-1) play the second game of a two-game series at Pruitt Hall Sunday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

West Alabama was in charge virtually from tap to buzzer, leading for all but 24 seconds and outscoring the Lady Statesmen, 35-22, in the final two quarters. The Tigers shot 52 percent from the floor (29-of-55) and scored 24 points off 22 Delta State turnovers.

“I am super, super proud of this team and of our effort because we really didn’t know what to expect,” UWA head coach Rusty Cram said. “We had to miss 14 days in the lead up to the game due to being quarantined.

“We didn’t just win tonight. We beat a very good, well coached basketball team,” Cram said. “I thought the second half was the difference. We came out of the gate and continued to open it up. We played hard, intense and were focused.”

A trio of turnovers midway through the first quarter gave UWA an early 17-9 lead. The Tigers had five steals and forced seven DSU turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game to build a 23-17 lead after one quarter and set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Delta State evened the score at 23-23 with 7:22 to go in the half, mounting a 6-0 run early in the second period before West Alabama turned up the defensive heat again in the stretch run to halftime, forcing five more Lady Statesmen turnovers in the last 4:10 of the quarter to give DSU 13 in the first two quarters.

“If you would have told me that we would have scored 74 points off a Craig Roden-coached team I would never have believed it,” Cram said. “They usually hold people in the 50s.”

Tazsa Garrett-Hammett led West Alabama scoring with 20 points, connecting on 7-of-14 from the field. She moved to fifth on the UWA all-time scoring list with Saturday’s effort, giving her 1,039 points. She is now third all-time at UWA in free throws made with 261 after a 6-for-8 effort.

Bria Dent notched a double-double for the Tigers, scoring 13 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Naelyn Rios added 19 points to round out double-digit scoring for UWA.

Zyaire Ewing led Delta State scoring with 20 points on a 9-for-14 shooting night. Shaniyah Buford was the only other Lady Statesmen player in double figures with 12. Ewing and Kristin Brown led DSU with seven rebounds each.

UWA outrebounded the Lady Statesmen 36-29 and collected 13 steals. The Tigers also collected 13 offensive rebounds to notch 16 second-chance points. UWA outscored DSU 42-34 in the paint.

A limited number of seats are available for Sunday’s game due to COVID protocols in Pruitt Hall. With tipoff at 3 p.m., doors will open at 2 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required.

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BIRMINGHAM – Former West Alabama tennis players Julius Kaverinen and Nestor Vargas each earned a spot on the Gulf South Conference Men’s Tennis Team of the Decade according to an announcement by the league office.

Kaverinen, who played at UWA from 2016-19, was a first team selection. Vargas, a Tiger from 2011-14, was a second team choice.

From Helsinki, Finland, Kaverinen was a 2018 All-American in both singles and doubles and a three-time All-GSC selection. He teamed with Linus Holthey to finish fourth nationally in doubles in 2018 and ranked as high as No. 11 nationally in 2018 singles.

Kaverinen was ranked as high as No. 10 regionally in singles in 2019 and teamed with Holthey to be ranked as high as third in the region in doubles in 2019, playing both at No. 1.

Vargas, from Bogota, Columbia, earned All-American recognition in both singles and doubles in 2014 and was a two-time All-GSC choice. He recorded 60 singles and 54 doubles wins in three seasons at UWA after transferring from Winthrop. Vargas was a top 10 seed in ITA Regionals and was ranked as high as 15^th nationally in singles.

Bruno Savi of West Florida was voted the player of the decade and Argonaut coach Derrick Racine the coach of the decade.

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BIRMINGHAM – The Gulf South Conference is proud to announce the GSC All-Decade Awards for men’s basketball. The awards factor in the years 2011-20 and were jointly selected by institutional personnel, coaches, and league administrators.

The complete list of honorees, along with a description of their accomplishments, can be found at the following link:

GSC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-DECADE AWARDS (2011-20)

Alabama Huntsville’s Josh Magette has been named the GSC Player of the Decade. Magette is a three-time all-conference selection and was named the GSC Co-Player of the Year in 2012. On the national level, Magette earned multiple All-American honors and was named the 2012 Daktronics South Region Player of the Year. Magette was at his best in the postseason, guiding UAH to back-to-back Elite Eights, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in the South Regional each time. He was also the Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 GSC Championship. Magette was recently named to the GSC Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Magette’s coach Lennie Acuff has been named the GSC Coach of the Decade. Acuff was named the GSC Coach of the Year four times in the decade and NABC District Coach of the Year three times. He led the Chargers to Elite Eight twice (2011 and 2012) to go along with five appearances in the Sweet Sixteen. UAH advanced to the conference title game six times in the decade under Acuff and won three GSC Championships.

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BIRMINGHAM – The Gulf South Conference is proud to announce the GSC All-Decade Awards for women’s soccer. The awards factor in the years 2010-19 and were jointly selected by institutional personnel, coaches, and league administrators.

The complete list of honorees, along with a description of their accomplishments, can be found at the link at the top of the page.

North Alabama’s Chloe Roberts has been named the GSC Player of the Decade. Roberts was the 2011 Daktronics National Player of the Year, she ranks second in GSC history in career goals (93), and she was named an All-American each year of her career. She is a two-time GSC Player of the Year, winning the award as a freshman in 2009 and again in 2011. The four-time First Team All-GSC selection was also twice named the Most Outstanding Player of the GSC Championship (2011 and 2012).

Sarah Story from West Florida has been named the GSC Goalkeeper of the Decade. Story was named an All-American in both 2012 and 2013. In 2012, she was the GSC Player of the Year and the Daktronics South Region Player of the Year. Story was in goal for the Argos for their run to the 2012 NCAA Championship, and she was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the NCAA Tournament.

West Florida’s Joe Bartlinski has been named the GSC Coach of the Decade. Bartlinski is the GSC’s career leader in wins with 316 victories. In the summer of 2010, he won the league’s All-Time Coach Award, and since then he has racked up five GSC Coach of the Year awards this decade. UWF made the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last 10 years, and in 2012, he and the Argos won the NCAA Championship. That season, he was also named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Coach of the Year.

GSC WOMEN’S SOCCER ALL-DECADE AWARDS (2010-19)

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BIRMINGHAM – The Gulf South Conference is proud to announce the GSC All-Decade Awards for men’s soccer. The awards factor in the years 2010-19 and were jointly selected by institutional personnel, coaches, and league administrators.
 
The complete list of honorees, along with a description of their accomplishments, can be found at the link at the top of the page.
 
West Alabama’s Thibault Charmey has been named the GSC Player of the Decade. Charmey is a two-time GSC Player of the Year (2013 and 2014). In 2014, Charmey was named the Most Outstanding Player of the GSC Championship after leading the Tigers to their first of what would be four straight Gulf South Titles. He is also a two-time First Team All-South Region selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (now United Soccer Coaches) and earned Second Team All-American honors from the organization in 2014.
 
Humberto Pelaez from Mississippi College has been named the GSC Goalkeeper of the Decade. Pelaez was the GSC Player of the Year in 2016, leading the Choctaws to the league’s regular season title with a 7-1-1 record in conference play. He was named GSC Defender of the Week five times during that 2016 season. Overall, Pelaez was a two-time First Team All-GSC selection (2016 and 2017) and was also named All-South Region by the NSCAA/USC in both of those seasons.
 
West Florida’s Bill Elliott has been named the GSC Coach of the Decade. Elliott led the Argos to seven GSC Championship Games in the decade to go along with three NCAA Championship selections, which was the top mark in the league. He was twice named GSC Coach of the Year in the last 10 seasons (2013 and 2018) and has earned the honor six times overall in his career. In 2010, Elliot was named the GSC All-Time Coach when the conference compiled its All-Time Team covering the first 14 years of play.

GSC MEN’S SOCCER ALL-DECADE AWARDS (2010-19)

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