Box Score

CLEVELAND- Veronica Walker, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Indianola, powered the Lady Statesmen of Delta State University to a 64-48 win over the Argonauts of the University of West Florida Friday, as the fans welcomed home DSU with open arms in the second game of the sixth annual Margaret Wade Classic at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

Delta State improved to 2-4 while West Florida dropped to 1-2, their lone win coming against the Lady Statesmen a week ago.

The Lady Statesmen got off to a hot start against West Florida, led by sophomore forward Moe Bell, who had eight points in the first 10 minutes, including two from behind the arch.

At the halfway point, the Lady Statesmen had a commanding 13 point lead, and was gaining some momentum with no signs of slowing down. With 11 seconds remaining in the half, the lead was 15 for Delta State, before Amy Drake was fouled behind the three-point line and cut the lead to 12 by making all three free-throws.

It didn't hinder the home team's spirits, as they went into the locker room with a comfortable 44-32 lead.

As a team, Delta State shot 50 percent from the floor, including 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. West Florida was held to a mere 47 percent. Walker led DSU with 13 points and three boards at the break, while Kirsten McBride and Bell had eight points apiece.

Tiffany Williams led West Florida with 10 points, while teammate Victoria Hunt cashed in on eight.

Both squads had slow starts in the second half, scoring a combined six points in the opening 14 minutes. As the game wore on, Delta State continued to slowly extend their lead, while stepping up their defensive intensity. On the night the Lady Statesmen racked 21 defensive boards with 32 overall to West Florida's 24.

Despite shooting 45 percent in the second half, the Lady Statesmen still remained in control most of the game and proved it by holding the visitors to just 35 percent for the night.

Walker finished with a game-high 19 points, including four rebounds. Bell also finished in double figures with a 14 point effort, going 4-of-5 from the three-point line. McBride narrowly missed a double-double effort with eight points and nine boards.

West Florida had two players finish in double figures. Hunt had a team-high 15 points, while Williams finished with 10 in the loss.

The Lady Statesmen will close out day two of the Margaret Wade Classic going head-to-head with North Georgia. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

Game one featured North Georgia College and State picking up the 70-61 win over Southern Arkansas.

The Lady Saints (1-0) shot nearly 53% for the game while holding Southern Arkansas to 38% as the lady Muleriders dropped their third straight on the season.

North Georgia had to players finish in double-digits. Brooke Baker had a team-high 17 points and four rebounds, while teammate Syretha Marble finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Stephanie Brownlee narrowly missed a double-double with a nine points and 11 rebounds on the night.

Southern Arkansas was led by Kmaria Hobbs who finished with a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Teammates Kristy Shinn and Goldie White finished with nine points respectively.

North Georgia will close out the weekend against the Lady Statesmen at 8 p.m. while Southern Arkansas takes on West Florida at 6 p.m.