PENSACOLA, Fla. | A strong second half propelled the University of West Florida to a 68-49 non-conference women's basketball victory over Young Harris College Saturday (Nov. 28) afternoon at the UWF Field House.
                     
The Argos leveled their record at 2-2 while the Mountain Lions fell to 3-2. Young Harris returns to action Wednesday (Dec. 2) when they travel to Mars Hill, North Carolina, for a 6 p.m. game at Mars Hill University.
 
The Mountain Lions and Argos battled back and forth in the first half as neither team enjoyed more than a four-point lead in the opening 20 minutes. The game was tied five times in the first half and the teams traded the lead back and forth 10 times as West Florida took a 30-29 lead at the half.
 
West Florida broke open the game with an 11-1 run to start the third quarter to open up a 40-30 lead on a layup by Toni Brewer with 5:02 remaining. Young Harris got within five at the end of the period when Meredith Tarver nailed a three-pointer with six seconds left. The Argos put together a 15-2 run in the final quarter as West Florida pushed its lead to 18 (60-42) on a Courtney Meyer layup with 3:26 to go,
 
"West Florida is very well coached and they made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter that made the difference," said Young Harris head coach Matt Stearsman. "We played extremely hard, but we struggled to make shots and they shot it very well in the second half. We got a little deflated when we couldn't make open shots and that's when they made their run. Our youth showed up a little bit in the fourth quarter."
 
Katie Bobos led West Florida, which shot 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the final 20 minutes, with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Alex Coyne added 20 points. Brewer finished with 12 points.
 
Jenny Vernet led the Mountain Lions, who shot 26.7 percent (8-of-30) in the second half from the field, with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Briana Bell added 12 points while Tarver added nine more.