CLEVELAND – Three Lady Statesmen players scored in double-figures as No. 4 Delta State breezed past the Lady Bulldogs of Tougaloo College 78-51 Saturday at Sillers Coliseum.

Shameka Russell scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Lady Statesmen, who ran their record to 7-0 on the season.

Joncyee Sanders and Veronica Walker scored 10 points apiece. Sanders provided five assists off the Delta State bench, while Walker recorded a team-high three steals.

Tougaloo, a member of the NAIA and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, was led by Demara Bolton, who scored 13 points apiece. Shalenia Wilcher and Clarksdale, Miss. native Kim Kern added 10 points for the Lady Bulldogs, who fell to 3-4.

Tougaloo, which had earlier defeated Ouachita Baptist – the team picked to finish second in the GSC West – kept pace with the Lady Statesmen in the early going. Both teams exchanged a flurry points during the first two and a half minutes as Delta State held an 11-8 at the 17:29 mark.

From there, the Lady Statesmen's transition game proved to be too overwhelming for their visitors as Delta State embarked on a 13-4 run. Bug Cooper stole an inbounds pass from Victoria Jones and converted an easy layup to put Delta State ahead 24-12 with 13:27 remaining in the first half.

The Lady Statesmen continued to flex their collective muscle in the latter stages of the first half as the home team embarked on a 21-2 run between the 9:24 and 0:52 marks before halftime.

Cooper's play at the point ignited the Lady Statesmen offense in the first half, as the junior tallied eight assists prior the midgame break. She finished the game with five points and nine assists.

The Lady Statesmen shot 67 percent (24-of-36) from the floor in the first half while holding Tougaloo to a percentage of 30 percent (9-of-30). For the game, Delta State shot 52 percent (34-of-65) from the field.

With a comfortable lead in hand, Delta State head coach Sandra Rushing was able to turn the game over to her reserves for most of the second half. Jasmyne Sanders came off the bench to score nine points, followed by Ashley Martin, who added seven points addition to a game-high 11 rebounds.

Dominique Sutton and Jessica Collins scored five points apiece for Delta State. Collins also registered six assists.

Delta State won its 40th consecutive home game dating back to 2007.

The Lady Statesmen return to action Sunday, Dec. 13 when they resume Gulf South Conference crossover games at West Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.