Livingston, Ala. -- The Lady Hawks held off a late Tiger comeback to earn their first GSC win of the season Saturday afternoon as they topped the West Alabama 61-57 on the road.

With the win, Shorter moves to 3-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play; while the Tigers slip to 6-8 on the season and 3-4 in the GSC.

First quarter struggles looked to be a thing of the past for the afternoon, as the Lady Hawks came out strong at UWA; outscoring the Tigers 25-11 in the opening frame. Previously, Shorter's highest first quarter point total of the season was 18, against Carver on Nov. 15, and was the only game this year that the Lady Hawks led after the first ten minutes.

After taking the lead 4-3 in the opening minutes on a layup from BreAnna Thompson, Shorter set the tone for the game, extending its lead to eight (12-4) on an 8-1 run over the next three minutes. And kept the momentum by closing out the period on a 13-7 run for the 25-11 score at the break.

The Lady Hawks added to their advantage in the second quarter, making it a 33-17 game on a pair of free throws from Jasmine Gaines with just under six minutes remaining. UWA answered with a 6-1 run to close out the period, but Shorter kept the advantage and went into halftime leading 34-23.

The Lady Hawks then opened the third period on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to twenty-three (46-23), before the Tigers answered with a 9-0 run to close the gap to fourteen and tacked on four more in the final minute to cut the Shorter lead to eleven entering the final ten minutes.

In the fourth, the Lady Hawks extended their advantage to twelve on a layup from Jackie Hudson and a free throw from Roni Richardson, but the from there UWA began chipping away. Cutting the lead to as little as three (56-53) in the final minutes of the period. Shorter answered to earn the win, converting 5-8 free throws in the final two minutes; while the Tigers went 2-4 from the line and added a layup for the 61-57 final score.

The Lady Hawks shot 32 percent for the game, while finishing 22 percent from beyond the arc and 59 percent from the free throw line.

Four players finished in double-figures, led by Bianca Thornton with 15. Gaines added 13, Raven Fair chipped in with 11 and Richardson added ten. Thompson led the effort on the glass with a season high 14 rebounds.

Tazsa Garrett-Hammett led the Tigers with a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds.

Shorter will be back in action Tuesday night at Montevallo in the first meeting of the teams since the Falcons joined the GSC this season. Game time is set for 6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM CT.