SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The No. 6 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns erased a five-point overtime deficit and held No. 8 Delta State scoreless over the last two minutes of double overtime to steal a 75-73 win from the Lady Statesmen and win the Gulf South Conference tournament championship Sunday.

Natalia Santos scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Arkansas Tech (28-2). Her performance was followed by teammate Jessica Weatherford, who added 26 points and 11 rebounds.

Veronica Walker (Indianola, Miss./Gentry HS) recorded her 12th double-double of the season for the Lady Statesmen (25-3) before fouling out with 18 seconds remaining in the first overtime.

The Golden Suns won their third GSC title with the win and claimed their first ever win over the Lady Statesmen in the conference championship game in seven tries. The Lady Statesmen were denied their chance at a record fifth straight GSC championship.

Bug Cooper (Indianola, Miss./Gentry HS) tallied 15 points and nine assists for Delta State. Shameka Russell (Waynesboro, Miss./Southeastern Louisiana) came off the bench to score 14 points.

The win by Arkansas Tech also creates some mystery as to the location of the NCAA South Regional Tournament, as the Lady Statesmen – ranked No. 2 in the region – became the latest top three team to succumb this week, following No. 1 Fort Valley State and No. 3 Tampa.

Arkansas Tech, ranked fourth in the South Region, will likely not host the South Regional tournament either, as the men's regional tournament will be in Russellville, Ark.

The inside play of Russell and Walker was dearly missed by the Lady Statesmen in the second overtime after both players fouled out with less than 90 seconds remaining in the first extra session. The Walker-Russell tandem combined for 25 of DSU's 43 points after halftime.

Jimisha Washington (Cleveland, Miss./East Side HS/Coahoma CC) scored Delta State's only go-ahead basket in the second overtime session to put the Lady Statesmen up 72-70, but it was immediately countered by a triple from ATU's Jenny Vining with 2:54 remaining.

Cooper tied the game by making one out of two free throws with 2:39 remaining, but the Golden Suns answered again with a jumper in the paint by Weatherford to go ahead 75-73. Neither team scored during the last 2:15 of the frame.

Each team had a chance to win the game in the final half minute of regulation. After watching the Lady Statesmen erase their five-point lead in the final three minutes of the half, Santos put the Golden Suns ahead by 59-58 with a jumper from the baseline with 20 seconds remaining.

Down to their final possession of the second half, the Lady Statesmen put the ball in the hands of Cooper, who drew a foul with 1.9 seconds showing on the clock. She missed her first free throw, but calmly sank the second to send the game into overtime.

The Lady Statesmen owned the first overtime possession, jumping out to a quick five-point lead on baseline shot from Russell and a triple by Cooper. ATU narrowed the gap to 64-63, but Delta State pushed the lead back to five points with 1:34 remaining.

But like their first lead of the session, this DSU advantage would not hold up as the Golden Suns scored the last five points of the period. Walker's fifth foul of the game with 18 seconds remaining put Laura Beth Anderson on the line, who notched her second and third points of the game to tie the score at 68.

Delta State's perimeter defense helped the Lady Statesmen remain in the game as they held Arkansas Tech to 9 percent shooting (1-of-11) from 3-point range. Vining, one of the top shooters in the conference, was held to 1-of-10 from behind the arc.

At game's end, three Lady Statesmen – Walker, Cooper and Moe Bell (Madison, Miss./Madison-Ridgeland Academy) – were named to the All-tournament Team. ATU's Weatherford was also named to the team, and Santos was named the weekend's Most Valuable Player.

Bell scored nine points against Arkansas Tech. Her school record-setting 10 3-pointers and 33 points against West Alabama in the opening round of the tournament helped clinch her selection.

Jessica Collins (Jackson, Miss./Itawamba CC) scored seven points for Delta State.

The Lady Statesmen will return to action when the NCAA South Regional Tournament begins this week. The times and locations will be determined Sunday night, when the Division II women's tournament field is announced.

Visit gostatesmen.com for more information on the Lady Statesmen's tournament journey.