RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Two of the nation's most successful NCAA DII women's basketball programs clashed Saturday at Tucker Coliseum, as Arkansas Tech hosted Delta State in a key Gulf South Conference West Division showdown. Lady Statesmen sophomore point guard Bug Cooper, the reigning GSC West Player of the Week, delivered a double-double with 13 points and 14 assists in a 73-60 victory over the Golden Suns.
The Lady Statesmen improved to 21-6 overall and 11-1 in league play, while the Suns fell to 18-7 and 8-4 in the GSC. The win was the twelfth straight in the series for Delta State, and it clinched the GSC West Division title and No. 1 seed at the upcoming GSC Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
The Lady Statesmen jumped out to an early 10-4 lead with 11:21 remaining in the opening half. Neither team lit it up on offense in the first 10 minutes, as the two women's basketball giants combined to go 5-for-31 at the media timeout.
At the break, the Lady Statesmen held a slim 27-21 lead over the Golden Suns, despite shooting just 10-of-30 from the floor for 33.3 percent. ATU didn't fare any better, as they connected 6-of-18 for 33.3 percent.
LaMaesha McAdory led the Lady Statesmen with seven points and seven rebounds at the break. Amanda Grappe's six points paced ATU.
As the second half got under way, the Lady Statesmen exerted their strength inside to build a 20 point lead, 54-34, with 9:22 remaining in the game.
Over the next 3:46, Tech went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 12, 56-44, with 5:39 to play.
Bug Cooper finally stopped the bleeding for the green-and-white, as the sophomore all-American candidate drained a 15-footer with 5:14 left to extend the lead back out to 16, 60-44.
With 3:37 left in the contest, Tech head coach Dave Wilbers made the decision to start fouling to try and extend the game. Cooper nailed both attempts to extend the lead to 17, 62-45.
The decision to foul proved costly, as the Lady Statesmen connected on 12-of-13 free throws in the final three minutes for the 73-60 victory.
DSU finished the game shooting 40.7 percent on 22-of-54 attempts, but really delivered at the free throw line by making 24-of-29 for 82.4 percent. ATU shot 40.5 percent on 17-of 42 from the field, and 25-of-34 from the line as well.
The green-and-white out-rebounded Tech 38-28, and forced 16 turnovers, scoring 17 point off those mistakes. The DSU bench also outscored the ATU bench 19-13.
LaMaesha McAdory finished with a team-leading 19 points and nine boards for the Lady Statesmen. Cooper added 13 points, while
Moe Bell and
Kirsten McBride chipped in 11 points each.
Amanda Grappe, who did not score a second half field goal until the 7:32 mark, finished with a game-high 22 points.
The Lady Statesmen will return to Walter Sillers Coliseum Thursday, Feb. 26 for the final regular season game of the year, as Delta State hosts Harding University on “Senior Night.” Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and four of the Lady Statesmen seniors will be honored before the game.
Tickets are on sale now at www.GoStatesmen.com or they may be purchased at the DSU Athletic Ticket Office at Chadwick-Dickson Field House. DSU also has a limited number of half-price tickets for the upcoming Gulf South Conference Basketball Tournament March 4-8 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven.
