MARIETTA, Ga. – On Saturday afternoon in its 2013-14 home opener, the Southern Polytechnic State University women's basketball team posted a 67-63 non-conference win over the West Virginia University Institute of Technology Golden Bears inside the Hornets Nest. Southern Polytechnic is ranked No. 20 nationally in NAIA Division I.

"We're just trying to get better and better each game," Southern Poly head coach Laquanda Dawkins said. "We're still figuring out rotations and trying to understand game-time adjustments, and making those adjustments that are necessary."

"It was our first home game so we're happy with the win. We'll take it but we've still got work to do."

After six lead changes and three ties, the Hornets led by the score of 32-28 at halftime. WVU Tech fought back to take a pair of four-point advantages, the last at 45-41 with 12:55 remaining, before SPSU went ahead by seven points on three occasions. Arnissa Galloway made a field goal and two free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Each team finished with 23 made field goals with Southern Poly taking 64 attempts (35.9 percent) and the Golden Bears 58 (39.7 percent). At the free throw line, the Hornets were 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) while Tech went 13-of-15 (86.7 percent). SPSU, which had a 43-38 advantage in rebounds, committed 16 turnovers to WVU Tech's 20.

Galloway ended with 16 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and three assists for the winners while Sha'Ron Forte' contributed 14 points and a game-best four steals. Quentessa Bullock had 12 points while Kimdra Reid scored 11 off the bench to go along with seven boards and a game-high four blocked shots. Erica Turner added 10 points.

Southern Poly moves to 3-0 overall while the Golden Bears are 0-3. The Hornets start Southern States Athletic Conference play on Friday when hosting the Blue Mountain College Lady Toppers at 5:30 p.m. The Blue Mountain-SPSU men's contest follows at approximately 7:30 p.m.