The Golden Suns used a strong second half Thursday afternoon to blow past the West Florida in the opening round of the GSC Tournament. After trailing early in the contest, the Golden Suns ignited to rout the Argos 87-64.

Last year the Golden Suns made an early postseason exit after falling to Valdosta State in the quarterfinals, ending their season. This year their postseason expectations are much higher with a 25-2 record and No. 6 national ranking. 

The Argos would keep the game close in the early going, leading for much of the first half behind the strong shooting of Amy Drake. The senior guard’s 12 first half points coupled with poor shooting by Tech helped West Florida jump out to an early lead. The Golden Suns struggled to convert defensive stops into points in the first half, scoring only five points off Argo turnovers.

West Florida led for most of the first half until a late run by the Golden Suns gave Tech a 34-31 lead at the break. That slim advantage would quickly increase, as the second half would be all Tech.

An Argo 3-pointer tied the game at the start of the second half, but the Golden Suns responded with a 12-2 run to jump out to a 46-36 lead. Tech scored a remarkable 53 points in the second half, and led by as much as 28 in an opening round rout.

Natalia Santos spearheaded the Golden Suns attack, leading all scorers with 28 points, a career high for the sophomore forward from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Jessica Weatherford, recently named West Division Freshman of the Year, scored 18 points. Jenny Vining added another 11 for the Golden Suns (26-2).

"[Natalia] and Jessica are two of the best post players in the conference," said coach Dave Wilbers. "Those two really dominated the paint."

Drake led the way for the Argos (14-14) with 20 points. Tiffany Williams scored 10 points, and Jessie Ivey chipped in another nine in a losing effort.

The Golden Suns will play Harding this Saturday in seminfinals action. The Lady bisons defeated North Alabama 73-66 to advance and bolster their resume in hopes of an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's semifinal contest tips off at 12:30 p.m.