FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of West Alabama women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a 16-0 run by North Alabama in the opening game of Gulf South Conference action, as UWA (5-9, 0-1) fell 81-63 at Flowers Hall on Thursday evening.

Keiara Middleton led UWA in scoring with 14 points, followed by 11 points from Valerie Harris. Omeshia Frost paced the Tigers on the boards with six rebounds. Amber Rutherford fell one rebound short of a double-double for UNA (8-8, 1-0) with a season-high 33 points and nine rebounds.

The Lions opened the affair on a 16-0 run over the course of the first six minutes of the game. UWA cracked the scoreboard on an old fashioned three-point play by Middleton with 12:56 remaining in the opening stanza. UWA began to trim the lead, getting the margin under double digits, 34-25, for the first time since the 16:15 mark with 3:14 remaining before the break. The Tigers closed the final three minutes of the half out on a 6-2 run to trail 36-31.

UWA couldn’t keep the hot shooting going in the second half, as UNA pushed the five point halftime lead out to double digits, behind a 10-5 run in the first three minutes of the second stanza. After the Lions extended the lead to 14 points at the 14:47, UWA trimmed the lead to 54-45 with 13:58 remaining in the contest. The nine points would be as close as the Red and White would draw the remainder of the game. UNA reached its largest lead of the game, 23 points, with just under six minutes left to play on a pair of free throws by Rutherford.

West Alabama returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 10, as the Tigers travel to Carrollton, Ga. to face West Georgia. The conference clash is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CST in the new Coliseum on the UWG campus. The game will be aired on WZNJ 106.5-FM and at athletics.uwa.edu.