FINAL BOX: Lady Statesmen 51 - Mustangs 66
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A furious second half comeback by the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State spelled doom for the Lady Statesmen of Delta State University Friday, 51-66, in the opening game of the Disney Division II Tipoff Classic. The Lady Statesmen dropped to 0-1 on the exhibition season, while the Mustangs improved to 1-0.
After missing all three of her shots and being held scoreless in the first half, Sara Leidall scored 12 second half points; on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor to lead the Mustangs to the come-from-behind win. Heidi Kimmes also heated up in the second half recording 10 of her 12 total points.
Sophomore forward Shameka Russell, a 6-foot-2 transfer from Southeastern Louisiana, came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting to lead the Lady Statesman (0-1). Bug Cooper, a 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard from Indianola, was the only other player to record double digits with 10 points. Cooper also dished out a team-high four assists. Lamaesha McAdory added four points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Delta State ran off to a 12-point lead, 22-10, midway through the first half. Trailing 27-17 with about four minutes left until halftime, Southwest Minnesota scored 10 of the final 15 points of the period to trim the lead to five, 32-27, entering the half.
Trailing 40-35 with 12:29 left in the game, the Mustangs ran off 12-straight points over the next four minutes to take a 47-40 lead. Delta State cut the lead to four, 49-45, but that was close as they would get, as the Mustangs finished the game on a 17-6 run for the 15-point victory, 51-66.
Southwest Minnesota tightened up their defense in the second half holding Delta State to 23.8 percent from the floor on a mere 5-of-21 shooting, compared to 42.3 percent in the first half on 11-of-26 attempts. The Mustangs also dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Mustangs 21-10 in the second half.
The Lady Statesmen won't have long to dwell on the loss, as Delta State looks to rebound versus the University of South Carolina – Aiken Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST at The Milkhouse on Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.
Disney's Wide World of Sports Staff contributed to this release.
