West Alabama Upsets No. 1 Golden Suns

Dakota Powell scored a career-high 25 points to lead the West Alabama Tigers to an 85-73 upset of the nationally top-ranked Arkansas Tech Golden Suns at Pruitt Hall in Livingston, Ala., on Saturday.

Powell hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left in the first half to spark a 7-0 run that gave the Tigers (3-0) a 45-34 halftime lead.

The Golden Suns got back to within 54-46 with 14:56 remaining, but a pair of Powell 3-pointers fueled another 7-0 West Alabama spurt.

Her trey with 13:35 remaining made it 61-46 and the Tigers maintained at least an 11-point lead the rest the way.

Powell was 7-of-13 from 3-point range. Her previous career high was 13 points and she had only made three 3-pointers in West Alabama’s first two games this season.

Mystee Dale added 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Tigers. Lashandra McCoy (11 points) and Larrenda Rockwell (10 points) gave UWA four players in double figures in scoring.

Jenny Vining led Arkansas Tech with 22 points. She was 5-of-12 from 3-point range. Vining also had five steals and four assists.

Natalia Santos posted the first double-double by a Golden Sun this season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Tech’s Shaquilah Davis scored a career-high 14 points. Jessica Weatherford notched 12 points and eight rebounds.

West Alabama out-rebounded the Golden Suns 44-31. Tech forced the Tigers into 32 turnovers, but the Suns finished with just a one-point edge (27-26) in points off turnovers.

Arkansas Tech’s women had never lost to West Alabama in eight previous meetings before Saturday.

The Suns will continue their road trip on Monday with a 4:30 p.m. (CST) contest against West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga.

The game will be broadcast live by radio station KWKK 100.9 FM in the Arkansas River Valley. The broadcast will be streamed over the Internet at www.athletics.atu.edu.

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