PENSACOLA, Fla. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team's late, fourth-quarter rally fell short as the Choctaws (8-5, 3-4 Gulf South Conference) were edged by the University of West Florida on Thursday, Jan. 13 at the UWF Field House. The Argonauts improved to 12-2 and 7-1 in the league.
 
Alana Canady and Ally Alford provided double figures for the Navy and Gold in the setback. Canady led the way with a season-high 17 points and one shy of matching her career-best of 18. Alford recorded her eighth game in double figures with 11 points. The Batesville, Miss., native has posted double digits in her last six outings.
 
Tamrah Sykes paced the Choctaws on the glass with 12 rebounds – a new career-high for the Aberdeen, Miss., product. She surpassed her previous best of 10 set earlier this season in a win at Lane College. The Choctaws as a unit pulled down 37 boards.
 
MC 35.9 percent from the field, but struggled from behind the arc as it connected on just 11.8 percent. It connected on 14-of-19 from the charity stripe for a clip of 73.7.
 
West Florida was led by Jaclyn Jarnot with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Argos shot 46.6 percent from the floor, 21.4 percent from the 3-point line and was 15-for-20 from the free-throw line for 75 percent. The Green and Blue amassed 41 rebounds.
 
After a back-and-forth, first 20 minutes of action, that saw the Argos clinging to a 29-26 lead at the break, Mississippi College went on a 9-2 run to open the third period and grab a 35-31 lead with 6:40 left in the quarter. UWF battled back and grabbed as much as an eight-point advantage multiple times during the final six minutes in the period, including holding a 54-46 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
 
The Argos held as much as a 17-point advantage in the final quarter, their largest lead of the game, with 7:06 left to play, but the Navy and Gold battled back and cut the deficit to single digits on a Canady jumper with 3:49 left. The Choctaws managed to pull within six points, on a Canady free throw. However, West Florida closed out the final minute on a 5-1 run to close out the game and end the charge.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 15 as it travels to 19th-ranked Valdosta State University. Tip is set for 1 p.m.