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West Georgia outgunned by Lions, derails LMU
By James Robinson
Staff Writer
jrobinsß@my. westga.edu
The North Alabama
Lions came to town on
Monday, and the Braves
traveled north to take
on Lincoln Memorial
Saturday night in their final
two games of the regular
season. West Georgia fell
to the Lions 99-94, but
they finished the year on a
high note with a win over
Lincoln Memorial 74-66.
Monday’s game was
senior night, and it appeared
neither team showed up to
play defense.
North Alabama played
fast paced basketball from
the start, and the Braves
were forced to play from
behind the entire evening.
The Lions led 52-
44 at the half and pushed
its lead to 12 early in the
second period.
But West Georgia
would spark a rally. Down
85-71 with just over 6:00
remaining, Michael Ford
and Chris Burras led the
Braves’ charge to put them
within nine with 5:00 left.
The Braves would cut the
lead to one with under 30
seconds in regulation, but
the Lions would go to the
Braves end regular season with a pair of wins
By James Robinson
Staff Writer
jrobinsß@my.westga.edu
Monday night was
truly a night to remember
as the Braves capped their
final home game off with
a 57-52 win over North
Alabama on senior night.
West Georgia played
good team basketball as
the freshmen were able to
see plenty of playing time,
and those in attendance
got to see spectacular
performances from the
season’s two team leaders,
Natasha Liggins and Tai
Ellis, one last time.
It appeared that the
game would be a West
Georgia blow out in the
beginning. Ellis and
Liggins were on fire. The
dynamic duo took turns
connecting from all over
the gym to give the Braves
a 19-11 lead after nine
minutes of play. North
Alabama would not go
away though. In the next
3:00 the Lions went on a
12-4 run to take their first
lead of the period at 23-
21. Ellis knotted the game
up at the halfway mark
after a buzzer beater in the
paint. Ellis led the scoring
in the first period with 13
points. Freshman Rachelle
Washington added five
rebounds in the half.
The second half
scoring was led off by a
Lions tri-fecta that would
give the Lions a small three
point lead until Liggins
decided to turn it up. She
scored 11 points in a two
minute span to give the
Braves a 39-30 lead, and
it would only grow from
there. With 6:02 left in the
jUUI lIS
line to seal the victory.
Ford had a rock solid
night as he scored 29
points in his last home
game as a Brave. Fellow
senior Burras finished just
behind with 28. Antonio
Shaw added 12 buckets
while Sam Richardson put
up 10.
In Tennessee on
Saturday night, the Braves
ended their season on a
positive note with a win
over the Railsplitters.
The first period was
a see-saw battle as both
teams fought back and
forth to take control of the
game. West Georgia had
a 10-2 lead at the opening
of the first period, but
Lincoln Memorial would
answer. The Railsplitters
fought back and went on
to take a five point lead. At
the half, it was the Braves
who were on top, as they
took a 47-39 advantage into
the locker room.
After two three
pointers to begin the half,
the Braves increased their
lead to 17. However, the
Braves’ lead would not
seal the victory. Lincoln
Memorial came back from
the deficit to outscore the
Braves by 16 in the next
eight minutes. It seemed
game, UWG was up 51-
38 and a Lions comeback
was not even a possibility.
The Braves outscored the
Lions in the second half
34-19. Head coach Craig
Roden gave some of the
freshman members of the
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Photo by Nicholas Kirby
Seniors Tai Ellis, left, and Natasha Liggins, right, have been major reasons for the Braves’ success this year.
team some playing time in
the second half.
“Along with our
seniors, we got good play
from out of Alexis Pace
and Rachelle Washington,”
Roden commented.
Liggins was the
top scorer on the night,
finishing with 21 points,
19 of which came in the
as though both teams
would take the momentum
into the final minutes of
play. Ultimately, it was the
Braves who had the final
scoring run that gave them
the 12-point advantage.
Ford was the leading
scorer, finishing with 24
points. Burras added 19
on the night to cap off an
outstanding career.
The Braves end
regular season play with a
record of 18-9 overall and
7-7 within the conference.
West Georgia begins
play in the Gulf South
Conference tournament
tonight from Tupelo,
Miss. This is the 11th
consecutive trip for the
Braves to the tournament.
Last year, the Braves fell
to Central Arkansas in the
Quarterfinals of the South
Region.
Ed Murphy’s squad
enters play as the number
five seed and will face the
Henderson State Reddies
out of the Western division
in a play-in game. The
Reddies are 15-11 on the
season and 10-6 in GSC
play. Tip off is scheduled
for 8:30 p.m. eastern time.
The game can be heard
on KISS 102.7 FM or ort
the web at uwgbraves.com.
second half. Later in the
week, she earned her first
Gulf South Conference
East Player of the Week
aw ard this season. Ellis and
Yvonne Killings have also
won the award this year.
The win locked the
Braves in as the number
two seed going into Tupelo
for the GSC tournament.
“We’re locked at number
two and there’s nothing
anyone can do about it.
I’m grateful for that.”
Roden added.
On Saturday night,
the Braves finished off
a record setting regular
SENIOR NIGHT
The following senior member of the men’s and women’s
basketball team were honored February 20th during the
Braves’ final home game. Statistics shown for the women
are career stats, while season stats are shown for the men
Women
Tai Ellis
1,478 points - Seventh All
Time
516 Field Goals - Sixth All
Time
Doville Gulbinaite
.411 field goal percentage
72 assists
Yvonne Killings
58 assists
204 points
Natasha Liggins
196 assists
111 steals
650 points
Vemetra White
19 blocks
season with a win over
Lincoln Memorial in the
final minute of the game
57-53. The Braves begin
play in Tupelo with a two
game winning streak.
West Georgia may
have just needed to get
loosened up after the long
trip to Tennessee. They
only posted 10 points in
the first 11:00 of play, but
the Braves would not be
down for long. The Roden
regime began to blockade
any attempts to the basket
for the Railsplitters with
some sound defense. West
Georgia went into the
UWG Softball
@ Oil Park Field
Today 1 p.m. vs. North Georgia (DH)
Fri. 2 p.m. vs. Bluefield State (DH)
Men
Chris Burras
Seven double-doubles
216 rebounds
Michael Ford
527 points
.855 free throw percentage
Michael McCowan
46 blocks
25 steals
Antonio Shaw
.571 field goal percentage
43 steals
Ramon Sims
.923 free throw
percentage
break with a 23-21 lead
and came out in the second
half to push the envelope,
as they built an 11-point
lead after the first eight
minutes of play.
Lincoln Memorial
would answer back on
a pair of three’s to get
within one. But despite
the Railsplitters best
effort, it was not enough
to comeback on a UWG
team with two of the best
guards in the conference.
With less than two minutes
remaining, an Ellis bucket
put the Braves ahead by
two. Liggins followed
with a free throw to
increase the lead three.
After missing the second
free throw, Ellis grabbed
the offensive rebound and
was immediately fouled.
She connected on both of
her free throws to give the
Braves the win.
Seniors Ellis and
Liggins have both left
their thumbprints on
UWG history. Liggins set
a record earlier this season
when she connected on 24
consecutive free throws to
surpass Sherita Owensby’s
previous mark of 23
straight. Ellis finishes her
potential hall of fame
career as the seventh all
time leading scorer in
UWG history.
Liggins again led the
Braves with 22 points.
Ellis also scored in double
figures with 17 and
snatched eight rebounds
in the paint.
Tomorrow night, the
Braves will begin play in
the GSC tournament with
a tip off scheduled for 3:45
p.m. eastern time The
game will be at the Ban Corp
South Center in Tupelo,
Miss, and West Georgia
will face the winner of the
Southern Arkansas/Central
Arkansas matchup.
Ellis also has the
chance to pull off an
impressive feat in the
tournament. If she scores
atleast 10 points, she will
become only the second
player in UWG history to
score 600 or more points
in a season. UWG Hall
of Famer Velissa Levett
(‘B7-’9l) is the only other
player who has hit the 600
point mark, having done it
in both 1989 and 1990.