Box Score

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The University of West Alabama women’s basketball team couldn’t recover from a 13-2 run by Arkansas Tech to begin the second half, as the Golden Suns advanced to the Gulf South Conference semifinals with a 65-55 victory over the Tigers in a quarterfinal game Thursday at the DeSoto Civic Center.

Wennica Foster scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in the first half to lead West Alabama (19-9). Foster, who was involved in a car accident Tuesday, was 6-of-15 from the field.

“She got tired toward the end,” Tigers coach Amanda Marks said about Foster’s play. “She had a good game and I thought she shot the ball extremely well. I think right now it’s a long shot for us to get into the national tournament.”

West Alabama, which came into the contest ranked No. 9 in the latest NCAA Division II South Regional poll, must now await Sunday’s decision on whether it will be selected to play in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Ashton Washington, who was named to the All-Gulf South Conference Eastern Division First Team on Tuesday, finished with 10 points on 4 of 9 shooting. She fouled out with 4:47 remaining.

Arkansas Tech jumped out to a 5-2 lead after a Krishna Baker layup with 17:49 left, but West Alabama battled back and grabbed a 10-9 lead after a Foster jumper with 12:47 remaining in the first half.

The Golden Suns grabbed the lead on a free throw by Daiane Domingos and extended the advantage to their largest of the first half, 19-12, after a Lauren Dennis 3-pointer with 9:37 left. West Alabama trimmed away at the deficit on baskets by Jessica Thompson and Foster, cutting Arkansas Tech’s lead to 19-18 with 7:22 remaining in the opening half.

The Tigers took their second lead of the contest on a layup by Jamie Walker with 6:12 left and Washington followed with a jumper to give West Alabama a 22-19 advantage with 5:13 left.

Arkansas Tech cut the Tigers lead to 27-26 on a pair of free throws by Christy Mahan, but a Foster jumper at the buzzer gave West Alabama a 29-26 lead at the break.

The Golden Suns (20-8) opened the second half on a 13-2 run.

Amanda Grappe tied the game at 29 on a free throw and Arkansas Tech broke the tie on a pair of free throws by Baker. The Golden Suns extended the lead to eight on a layup by Katie McCormick with 14:32 remaining.

West Alabama cut the deficit to 39-35 after a free throw by Walker with 13:13 left. Arkansas Tech continued to push the lead and took a 50-41 advantage on a Baker layup with 9:28 left in the contest.

The Tigers again trimmed the margin to 52-49 on a fastbreak jumper by Foster, but that was as close as West Alabama would get. The Golden Suns closed out the game on a 13-6 run to get the victory.

Baker paced Arkansas Tech with 22 points on 7 of 17 shooting. Grappe had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double.

The Golden Suns advance to Saturday’s semifinals against the winner of the Harding-Valdosta State game.