CLEVELAND – Veronica Walker scored 24 points and hauled in seven rebounds to lead No. 3 Delta State to an 87-64 win over LeMoyne-Owen in the Lady Statesmen's home-opener Saturday.

Walker, a sophomore out of Indianola, Miss. (Gentry HS) was 8-of-11 from the field and sank eight out of nine free throw attempts as the Lady Statesmen improved to 2-0 on the season.

Bug Cooper (Indianola, Miss./Gentry HS) finished a rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 13 points and nine rebounds to go along with six assists.# Ashley Martin# (Memphis, Tenn./Southern Miss) came off the bench to score 11 points, and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.

The win was the second for the Lady Statesmen over LeMoyne-Owen within a week, as Delta State opened the season by sweeping a home-and-home series from the Lady Magicians.

Ashley Mason led LeMoyne-Owen (1-2) with 24 points and five points. She was the only visiting player with more than two field-goal attempts to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, converting 8-of-13 shots from the center position.

Mason's solid game highlighted an area in which the Lady Statesmen need to improve according to Delta State head coach Sandra Rushing.

“We've got to play better post defense and we've got to communicate. We looked lost out there,” Rushing said. “[Walker and Martin] did a great job offensively; however, the person they were guarding also scored 24 points and that (just) balanced out.”

The two teams exchanged points over the first three and a half minutes of the game, with LeMoyne-Owen holding an 8-6 lead at the 16:37 mark in the first half. The Lady Statesmen then used a 10-0 run to establish an advantage which they would not relinquish the rest of the game.

Delta State began pulling away for good when the Lady Statesmen embarked on an 11-0 run to secure a 29-15 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half. Delta State's lead never dipped into single-digits from that point onward.
The Lady Statesmen shot 49 percent (34-of-69) from the field, and were 6-of-20 (30 percent) from the three-point arc. Delta State limited LeMoyne-Owen to 39 percent (20-of-51) from the field.

Shameka Russell (Waynesboro, Miss./Southeastern Louisiana) scored nine points and hauled in six rebounds. Denesha Henderson (Guy, Ark./Guy-Perkins HS) added eight points and six rebounds.

Jessica Collins scored three points and handed out five assists, giving the Lady Statesmen a total of 11 helpers from the point guard position.

With the victory, the Lady Statesmen improved their home unbeaten streak to 37 consecutive games.

Even with the win, Rushing indicated that her team has a lot of room for improvement.

“I take a lot of pride in what we put on the floor,” Rushing said. “I'm glad with the win, but we are better than what we showed tonight and we will be a better team.”

The Lady Statesmen return to the court Monday when they host West Alabama as the first game of a women's-men's doubleheader. The game is the first of six against foes from the Gulf South Conference's East Division. The women's game is slated for a 6 p.m. tipoff, with men's game to follow.