Complete Lady Statesmen Basketball Game Notes Release [PDF]
CLEVELAND – The No. 9 Lady Statesmen (21-2, 10-2 GSC) of Delta State University enter the final week of the regular season tied for first in the Gulf South Conference's West Division, but facing stiff competition in the final two games of the season. The Lady Statesmen travel to Searcy, Ark., on Thursday (2.25) for a 5:30 p.m. showdown with Harding University (15-10, 7-5 GSC) before closing the regular season schedule on Saturday (2.27) versus Henderson State at 4 p.m. at Walter Sillers Coliseum. DSU will honor its 2009-10 senior class prior to the game.
The Lady Statesmen turned in a memorable week with a 71-43 thrashing of Southern Arkansas in Magnolia and a thrilling 71-61 victory over then-No. 5 Arkansas Tech in front of 2,192 fans at Sillers Coliseum this past Saturday.
Sarita “Bug” Cooper notched another record in her belt with her nine assist effort versus ATU, becoming the GSC's career leader in assists with 608. Cooper topped Jana Bright's (Jacksonville State/1987-91) previous record of 603 in just three seasons as a Lady Statesmen.
The victory over the Golden Suns pushed the Lady Statesmen into a first place tie with ATU with this week's games versus Harding and Henderson State remaining on the schedule. ATU will close with Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas.
Veronica Walker, a 6-foot-1 sophomore center, was named the GSC West Division Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Tuesday. Walker's league-leading eighth and ninth double-doubles helped her earn her conference-high fourth GSC Player of the Week award this season.
The sophomore forward, who leads the nation in field goal percentage, had two monster efforts from the field in wins over Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech. She scored 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting, grabbed 16 rebounds and added two blocks and two steals in a 28-point win over SAU.
The Indianola native followed up that effort making 8-of-11 shots against then-No. 5 ATU. She finished with a 23-point, 15-rebound, five-block effort in a 71-61 victory over the Golden Suns.
DSU also received great news on Wednesday, as the Lady Statesmen climbed to No. 2 in the NCAA South Region rankings.
The Statesmen Sports Network will feature the Harding and Henderson State games this week starting 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the “SouthGroup Insurance Locker Room Report.” Jimmy Smith and J.T. Webb have the call.
