CLEVELAND – The fourth-ranked Delta State Lady Statesmen (16-1, 4-1 GSC) recorded their 59th straight home victory, breaking a school record that has stood since 1978, as they overpowered the second-ranked Arkansas Tech Golden Suns (14-2, 3-1 GSC) 68-58 Saturday, Jan. 22 at Sillers Coliseum.

Every possession was so critical against the conference foe and the Lady Statesmen handled the ball with care.

Bug Cooper was just three rebounds away from achieving a triple-double, ending the night with an impressive 16 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and three steals.

Veronica Walker almost reached her career best in rebounds (19). She dominated under the basket bringing in 17. The Indianola native backed up the efforts of her teammates on offense and defense scoring 13 points, blocking four shots, and stealing the ball three times.

Moe Bell was a key component as well. She went 5 of 5 from behind the line bringing the Lady Statesmen to 62.5 percent on free throws.  The Madison native scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and a remarkable four steals.

In an expected tough game, the matchup was even throughout. But the Lady Statesmen took control of the second half and never let the Golden Suns gain the lead.

DSU finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (25 of 38), while ATU hit on 42.6 percent, but just 32.1 in the second half.  In fact, the Lady Statesmen defense held the Golden Suns to 27 second half point and only eight over the first 14 minutes of the second frame. 

“I am so happy we got that win,” head coach Sandra Rushing said. “ I am just so proud of our girls.”

The first half was a dogfight as both teams went neck-to-neck. Six different times the score was tied, but the Lady Statesmen left halftime with a five-point lead because of free throws. Delta State was 61.5 percent from behind the line (8-13) while Arkansas Tech was only 25.0 percent (1-4).

Bug Cooper led the way with 14 big points, three rebounds and four assists before halftime.

Arkansas Tech had four different girls score in the double digits. But the Lady Statesmen continued to defend well until the clock sounded. They stole the ball a total of 14 times and forced 16 turnovers. The 16 turnovers resulted in 14 points for the green-and-white.

The Lady Statesmen will return to the court for another conference game against the Lady Bucs of Christian Brothers University Thursday, Jan. 27 at Sillers Coliseum. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network starting at 5:45 p.m.