Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Since the inception of the University of Alabama in Huntsville women's basketball team in 1977-78, no team has started its season 13-2 – until now. The Lady Chargers (13-2, 4-0 GSC) defeated West Florida (5-11, 1-3 GSC) by a score of 81-64 Saturday night at Spragins Hall to set a new standard for UAH women's basketball.
 
“I'm so proud of this team,” head coach Roy Heintz said. “We're going to celebrate this tonight. I told them earlier today if they needed motivation, this is something that can never be taken away from them - it would be the greatest start in school history. Again, I'm very, very proud of this team.”
 
With the win, UAH bettered the previous best start of 12-2 set by the 1982-83 squad that finished 27-8 on the year. The squad extended its winning streak to a season-long six games which is the longest such streak since the 2002-03 season.
 
With its fifth victory over UWF in the previous seven meetings, UAH moved to a perfect 8-0 at home this season, which has been matched just once in school history by the 1982-83.
 
“You're really happy for a group of young ladies when they work as hard as they do and it started in the summer,” Heintz recalled. “Champions are made in the offseason - we hear that and it's not a cliché. This is one of the hardest working crews I've ever worked with. The preseason was very difficult. We really challenged them because I thought we had a great team and they responded.”
 
The Lady Chargers trailed for the first 2:20 of the contest before tying the game at 4-4 and taking over the lead with a free throw 12 seconds later. From there, UAH would not relinquish the advantage, leading by as much as nine in the first half and heading to the break with a 44-39 lead.
 
UAH continued to put the pressure on with a 10-0 run over the opening 3:24 in the second half, jumping out to a 54-39 advantage. However, UWF answered right back with a 10-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to five points. That was the closest the Argonauts would come as the Lady Chargers extended its lead again en route to the 17-point victory.
 
Junior Natalie Kelley posted her first 20-point night of her career at UAH with a game-high 22 points to lead four players in double digits. Junior Bailee Robinson added 16 points and was just one rebound shy of a double-double with a career-high nine rebounds.
 
“Natalie [Kelley] is a really special player and tonight we needed her,” Heintz said. “Tonight we needed to go inside and she did a great job with 22 points and just missed a double-double [with six rebounds] so I'm really proud of her effort tonight.”
 
Also scoring in double digits was redshirt freshman Shannon Steinert and sophomore Jordan Smith with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Steinert grabbed eight rebounds as well, shattering her former career-high of three boards.
 
As a team, UAH shot 34.4 percent (22-of-64) on the night while UWF connected on 34.8 percent (24-of-69) of its shots. The Lady Chargers held a significant advantage on the glass, pulling down 53 rebounds – their third-most this season - in comparison to the Argonauts' 40 rebounds.
 
UAH takes to the road for its next contest, traveling to Cleveland, Miss., on Jan. 19 to face Delta State. Tipoff at Sillers Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. CST.