RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The No. 9 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns handed the No. 2 Lady Statesmen their first loss of the season as they claimed a 56-47 win Saturday in spite of a record-setting day for Delta State forward
Veronica Walker.
Freshman post Jessica Weatherford scored 24 points to lead the Golden Suns (18-0, 5-0 Gulf South Conference West) in front of 3,122 fans at Tucker Coliseum on the Arkansas Tech campus. Weatherford, the leading free-throw shooter in the GSC, sank 14 out of 15 charity attempts.
Veronica Walker (Indianola, Miss./Gentry HS) scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Lady Statesmen (15-1, 4-1 GSC) in the losing effort. Both totals set career highs for Walker.
After trailing at halftime 25-21, the Golden Suns came out firing in the second half and used a 9-2 run to claim a 30-27 lead barely three minutes in.
Delta State managed to tie the game at 32 on a 3-pointer from
Moe Bell (Madison, Miss./Madison-Ridgeland Academy) with 15:42 remaining in the second half, but the Lady Statesmen found themselves on the blunt end of another 9-2 ATU over the next 3:10 that put the home team ahead 41-34.
The Lady Statesmen responded with a 12-4 run and briefly reclaimed the lead on a Walker layup with 6:34 remaining at 46-45, but Arkansas Tech seized the advantage for good 13 seconds later on basket by Natalia Santos.
Arkansas Tech, the highest-scoring team in the conference, flexed its defensive muscles over the last six minutes of the game, holding Delta State to one point during that span.
Bell scored nine points for the Delta State and tied her career high for rebounds with seven.
Bug Cooper (Indianola, Miss./Gentry HS) tallied five points in addition to handing out 11 assists and hauling in seven rebounds.
Shameka Russell (Waynesboro, Miss./Southeastern Louisiana) also scored five points.
Amy Vining, the leading scorer in the GSC at 20.9 points per game, chipped in with 15 points for the Golden Suns as they ended a 12-game losing streak to Delta State dating back to 2005.
The Lady Statesmen return to action Thursday when they host the Lady Bisons of Harding at Sillers Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
