The West Georgia women’s basketball team has been struggling in their 2015-2016 campaign. The Lady Wolves are 6-19 on the year with a 6-13 Gulf South Conference Record.
As of late, it seems UWG has found their identity. They have won 4 out of their last 9 games and 3 of their last 6, after starting the season 2-14.
9 of West Georgia’s 19 losses are by 5 points or less. Only 5 of the remaining losses are by 10 points or more. So, UWG has lost 14 games by 10 points or less and only 5 games by 10 or more.
With that being said, there have been very few games that UWG has been blown out. Not only that, but UWG has a variety of three point shooters, including some of their post players. This three point shooting ability has kept UWG on the winning end of a couple games, and has kept them close in many others.
Due to losing their top three scorers from last year, UWG has had trouble scoring points this year. Senior guard Katrina Littlepage leads UWG in scoring this year averaging 19.3 points per game, improving from her 7.7 average in her junior season where she was 4th in scoring. She currently has the second best shooting percentage on the team at 38.5%. West Georgia has relied on Littlepage throughout the course of the season to score the majority of their points. She has scored more than 10 points in 22 of the 25 games and has scored more than 20 points in 15 of the 25 games. Not only that, but Littlepage has 55 steals on the year, 28 more than anyone else.
The only other Lady Wolf that has a double digit scoring average is freshman center Terrianna Cave. She averages 10.7 points on the year. Sophomore center A’Kia Harris leads the team in rebounds with 6.6 a game and field goal percentage with 38.7%.
After starting the season 0-7, the Lady Wolves found their first win on December 6th vs Mississippi College. This was a 58-57 victory for UWG, a game in which they shot only 31% from the field. They were able to out-rebound their opponent for the first time this season, though. The game was won in thrilling fashion, as junior guard Bre’ana Singleton hit a 3-pointer with just 2.3 seconds on the clock, giving UWG its first victory. Littlepage scored 20 in this game, leading all scorers.
That same week, UWG found another win on the road against North Alabama. The 44-38 victory was the second of the year of UWG. Littlepage again led the team in scoring with 14 points. All her points came in the second half as the Lions were able to contain her in the 1st half. This was an odd game for UWG as 24 of the 44 points came in the 3rd quarter. Graduate student JaDechia Hill had a double-double in the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Senior April Levy added 11 points and 8 rebounds. This win gave UWG a 2-1 Gulf South Conference record and a 2-7 record overall.
Unfortunately for Wolves fans, the celebration was short-lived, as the Lady Wolves went on another 7-game losing streak. This made their record 2-14 with a 2-8 conference record.
On January 16th, West Georgia won its third game of the year. They defeated West Alabama in Carrollton, 65-60. None other than Katrina Littlepage led all scorers with 21 points. As a team, UWG shot 51.7% from the field in the second half. They also were 6-of-12 from three-point range in the second half. JaDechia Hill had 13 points and Terrianna Cave had 11 points in the game. This win gave West Georgia a 3-14 overall record on the year.
The next week, the women were on the road against Mississippi College and Delta State. They struggled on this road series, losing both games by 11 or more points. Then, the Lady Wolves returned home for two straight home games.
The first game was a 67-57 victory over Alabama Huntsville. Littlepage led in scoring again with 26 points, missing her career record (at the time) by 1 point. West Georgia shot 48.1 % from the field in the final quarter. This game was much more of a team effort than some of the previous wins have been. Other than Katrina Littlepage, Bre’Ana Singleton (11), JaDechia Hill (11), and Terrianna Cave (13) all also had double digit scoring totals in the win.
Just two days after the Alabama Huntsville win, the Lady Wolves got another win vs North Alabama. This was their second win in a row, and their second win against UNA on the year. This time, the score was much closer, as UWG edged out UNA 67-66. Terrianna Cave led UWG in scoring in this game with a career-high 25 points, Katrina Littlepage added 20 as well. As a team, the Lady Wolves shot 43.4 percent from the field in the game.
UNA got off to a hot start early as they had an 11-2 lead on UWG. Throughout the rest of the 1st quarter, West Georgia went on a 19 to 4 run giving them a 21-15 lead going into the second. The second quarter was back and forth and UWG went into the locker rooms at halftime trailing 34-33.
With just under 5 minutes to go, West Georgia was down 1 point. A drought then ensued and UWG found themselves down 62-56 late in the game. Littlepage then caught fire and hit consecutive shots. With 21 seconds to play, the score was 66-64 in favor of UNA. West Georgia’s April Levy stole the ball and Littlepage was able to put up an and-one. This tied the game at 66 and gave the senior a chance for the lead from the line, where she is 78.8% on the year. Littlepage of course sank the free throw, giving her team the one point victory.
This 2 game streak earned Terrianna Cave Gulf South Freshman of the Week Honors. This was her 2nd time winning the award this year. After the 2 straight wins, Cave had scored double figures in 7 straight games.
The Lady Wolves then lost 3 straight before winning another last Saturday, February 13th. This 77-76 win came against the Lee Flames in Cleveland, Tennessee and was UWG’s 550th Division II win in school history.
Katrina Littlepage had a career-high 37 points in the victory and was a near perfect 13-of-14 from the free throw line. She was 4-of-6 from three-point range and had a field goal percentage of 52%. She added 6 assists, 3 steals, a block, and 3 rebounds in the game, too.
This game was also won by a near buzzer beater. Katrina Littlepage assisted a sophomore D’Asia Cain three-pointer with just 3 seconds to go. This lifted West Georgia over Lee, 77-76.
The ladies now have something to feed off of coming into their home matchup on Thursday, February 18th vs West Florida. The Lady Wolves lost the last game against UWF, 61-57 in Pensacola, Florida.
After Thursday’s game, there will only be 2 games left in the regular season for West Georgia. They will take on Valdosta State in Carrollton on February 20th and then they will travel to Livingston, Alabama to play West Alabama in the last game on the 25th.
These last couple of games will be crucial for West Georgia’s chances at making the conference tournament. The Lady Wolves are sitting at 9 seed right now. Only the top 8 teams make the Gulf South Tournament. Ahead of them is Valdosta State at the 8 seed with a 7-12 conference record, one game better than West Georgia’s 6-13 conference record. Right behind West Georgia is West Alabama with a 5-14 conference record.
All three teams are still alive in the race. These last three games will be pivotal for West Georgia, as they take on both of the other teams battling for the final tournament spot. UWG lost to VSU in their 1st meeting 64-58, but they beat UWA 65-60.
Something to keep your eyes on is West Georgia’s ability to go on runs. This could be a good or a bad run, keep in mind. Some games West Georgia will score 65% or more of their points in one half. For example, West Georgia scored 24 of their 44 points in the win vs North Alabama in one quarter. That is 55% of their points in just one quarter.
They seem to heat up in the second half, as well. In the second half of the West Alabama win, they shot 51.7 % from the field. In the fourth quarter of the Alabama Huntsville win, the team shot 48% from the field. This success late in games paired with their variety of three-point shooters proves that West Georgia is capable of a late-season run.
As of late, the team has been playing pretty well. They have found scoring from different players and have been able to spread the ball around against opposing defenses. If West Georgia can find their way into the GSC tournament, then they should be a team to keep your eye on. The unfortunate thing is, they have to play exceptionally well for three games straight, something they really have not done all year.
Last year, UWG was eliminated in the semi-finals by the eventual Conference Champions, Union.
You can find the full women’s basketball Gulf South Conference Standings by clicking this link
***PICTURES WITH THE LOGO IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER WERE TAKEN BY ME, BRANDON WRIGHT. ANY PICTURE NOT WITH THE LOGO IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT I DID NOT TAKE. ALL OF THE PICTURES IN THIS SPECIFIC ARTICLE WERE TAKEN BY ME***
