Fueled by defense when their offense ran out of gas, the 10th-ranked Seawolves returned to their winning ways Friday in Miami Shores, Florida.
Two days after suffering its first loss, the UAA women’s basketball team defeated Barry University 60-41 to move to 6-1 on the season.
Yazmeen Goo’s 13 points and Safiyyah Yasin’s 11 points led the Seawolves, who limited their hosts to 15 field goals and 25 percent shooting.
The Seawolves raced to a 39-18 halftime lead by sinking 57 percent of their shots (8 of 14) and committing just seven turnovers.
They cooled off considerably in the second half, hitting less than 30 percent of their shots (7 of 23) and committing 14 turnovers. But they never lost their lead, unlike in Wednesday’s game, when they coughed up a 16-point lead in a 53-52 loss to Lynn University.
“Scoring 21 points in the second half is a good way to give up a lead like we did the other day,” UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said in a release from the school. “Luckily our defense was much better today, and we were able to get into their passing lanes and earn some transition points.”
The Seawolves used a 17-0 run to build a big lead in the first half and never trailed by double digits in the second half.
They had a poor 12-to-21 assist-to-turnover ratio but came up with 12 steals. Barry made 19 turnovers, and UAA capitalized by turning them into 22 points.
Goo added six rebounds and Yasin had four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tennae Voliva chipped in eight points, seven rebound, two blocks and two assists.
The Seawolves play their third and final nonconference game in Florida on Saturday when they meet Nova Southeastern at noon AST.