West Florida claims first GSC Tournament Championship in school history
GSC Women's Basketball
Birmingham, Ala. – The University of West Florida Argonauts claimed the 2013-14 GSC Tournament Title at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday.
It was “ladies first” as Delta State, in its 27
th GSC Tournament appearance, and West Florida, in just its second conference finals appearance took to the court at 1 p.m. (CT).
The first half saw steady play from both sides, but despite there being five lead changes with five minutes to go, UWF maintained the lead for most of it. Chelsey Rhodes paced DSU with a half-leading four rebounds and three assists, while Jenny Menz was the leading scorer with nine points at halftime. DSU was proficient in the first half shooting 50 percent from the field (13-26), while UWF was stellar from three (3-5), thanks in part to Tessah Holt, who was 2-3 from beyond the arc.
In the second half, both teams continued to play steadily as neither team built more than an eight-point lead during the game. DSU pulled within three points on four different occasions and even got within one point twice, but in the end, UWF was too much, as they went on to win, 67-59. Rhodes finished with a game-high 17 points. She also had six rebounds and four assists. Shanae Govan paced DSU with 12 points and four steals. Anissa Jackson had 12 points. For UWF, Toynetta Johnson led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Holt finished with 11 points, Menz with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while GSC Freshman of the Year Katie Bobos recorded a 10-point, 10-assist double-double.
The win gives the University of West Florida its first-ever GSC Tournament Championship. UWF is now automatically qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
2013-14 GSC All-Tournament Team
Seandre Lee, West Georgia
Janae Lyde, North Alabama
Seneca Walton, Delta State
Chelsey Rhodes, Delta State
Katie Bobos, West Florida
Toynetta Johnson, West Florida
Tessah Holt, West Florida (
Most Outstanding Player)