Box Score By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – This time everything clicked.

From the moment the ball was tossed up to start the game until the final second ticked off the clock, the Shorter Lady Hawks put together their most complete game of the season when they rolled past visiting West Alabama 84-68 to claim the Gulf South Conference win and taste victory for the first time in a month.

"It was good to get a win," Shorter head coach Vic Mitchell said about the win, one that ended a seven-game losing streak and improved the Lady Hawks to 6-16 overall and 4-12 in the GSC, "and it was good to see us shoot the ball so well."

Finding the mark against the Lady Tigers (4-17, 1-13) became all too often for the Lady Hawks, who finished the afternoon hitting 65 percent of their shots from the floor and a season-high 60 percent from three-point land.

And Shorter's scoring parade included every Lady Hawk who dressed out for the contest as every player broke into the scoring column.

"We haven't seen one of these games in a while," Mitchell said about the balanced output. "But once we got going, everybody played with confidence."

Just how complete a team effort the win was crystal clear when the Lady Hawks walked off the court.

For the first time this season, Shorter got contributions from up and down the roster with the veterans being joined in the run by their teammates coming off the bench.

While senior Lynette Harris turned in a 14-point outing for her team, sophomore Tamarr Williams matched her total with her best career effort pouring in 14 points as well off the bench.

Senior Karisma Boykin continued her solid play for the Lady Hawks adding 11 points, pulling down six rebounds and gladly leading the team with eight assists.

Ieshia Alexander, Boykin and Maggie Peeples set the tone of the game off the opening tip when they hit three consecutive three-pointers to give the Lady Hawks a lead they never lost.

With seven minutes left in the half, Boykin gave Shorter a double-digit lead, 27-16, when she went inside to score on a layup and from there Williams provided the Lady Hawks with momentum going into halftime when she nailed a shot from beyond the three-point arc in the final second to give Shorter a 40-26 halftime lead.

Williams ended the opening 20 minutes knocking down four of her five shots, including all three trey attempts, to lead the Lady Hawks at the break with 11 points, and as a team Shorter connected on a solid 54 percent of its shots that was buoyed by a 7-for-13 mark from long range.

Shorter's confidence and momentum carried over into the second half with Harris converting a three-point play that gave the home team a 43-26 advantage and from there the Lady Hawks never looked back.

The Lady Hawks eventually took their biggest lead of the game with 5:34 to play, 28-point margin, when Alexis Munlyn scored on a layup to make it 84-56.

West Alabama's Kelcia Bufkin led her team with a game-high 19 points and Jada Williams added 16.

"We knew (UWA) wanted to slow the game," Mitchell said, "so we picked it up on defense to get things going.

"Hopefully," he added, "we can take this win and carry it over on our road trip."

The Lady Hawks now embark on a three-game GSC road trip visiting West Florida in Pensacola on Thursday, at Valdosta State next Saturday and facing West Georgia in Carrollton on Feb. 25, then close out the regular season at home on March 1 hosting conference rival Lee.