Box Score HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTOS
HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville women's basketball team picked up a big win Thursday night, defeating visiting West Florida 82-79 at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Lady Chargers improve to 11-8 (6-7 GSC) with the win, while UWF slips to 11-6 (6-5 GSC).
 
Though the team fell in an early 10-2 hole after going more than four minutes without a field goal to start the game, the Lady Chargers would battle back and use a 15-4 run over nearly seven minutes to take a 17-14 lead at the 9:05 mark of the period as Jordan Smith hit a triple to put the Lady Chargers in front.
 
The Hoover, Ala., native would end the half with 15 points, and UAH would go into the locker room leading 34-32 after scoring the final six points of the half – capped off by an old-fashioned 3-point play as Smith picked the pocket of Toynetta Johnson and drove to the basket where she was fouled as she scored an easy layup.
 
 The game then transitioned into the Jasmine Hammon show at the start of the second period as she spurned a 23-9 UAH run at the start of the half. The senior guard scored the vast majority of those points, increasing her scoring output from two at the break to 17 by the 14:59 mark as she scored 15 points in the five-minute span.
 
The key stretch from Hammon allowed the Lady Chargers to push out to a 57-41 lead, and the 16-point advantage would be the largest that UAH would enjoy on the night.
 
UWF would battle back and pull to within two at 81-79 with under 30 seconds left in the game, but Hammon would collect a key defensive rebound in the final 10 seconds to help preserve the victory for the hosts.
 
Hammon finished the night with 27 points on the strength of a 10-of-18 shooting performance, moving to within 33 of the 2,000-point plateau for her career, and Smith scored 24 as the duo both surpassed 20 points in a game for the ninth time this season.
 
Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Chargers were Kendra Jones and Josi Saunders who both chipped in with 10.
 
UAH shot 44.9 percent for the game – including a strong 7-of-13 from beyond the arc – while West Florida connected on 46.5 percent of its attempts. The Argos also won the battle on the glass, collecting 39 rebounds compared to UAH's 34.
 
The Lady Chargers will aim to build off of Thursday night's win on Saturday when the team hosts Valdosta State. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at Spragins Hall.