RUSSELLVILLE, ARK—History repeated itself for the Delta State Lady Statesmen (28-4). In two consecutive years, the Golden Suns (30-2) of Arkansas Tech defeated the green-and-white in the NCAA South Region Tournament Championship game in Tucker Coliseum. The Lady Statesmen's 2010-2011 season ended on an 85-77 loss to ATU.

“I wish we had of played better,” said head coach Sandra Rushing. “Bottom line, I wish we had of won.”

Lady Statesmen went seven minutes without scoring a bucket in the beginning of the first half, giving the Golden Suns an opportunity to take a massive lead. With 9:50 left to play in the first period, Arkansas Tech had a 19-point advantage (23-4).

Also, the Lady Statesmen struggled getting the ball inside as well as getting rebounds. They only scored four points in the paint in the first half compared to ATU's 22. The Golden Suns out-rebounded the Lady Statesmen 17-10 in the first.

After making an offensive run, DSU cut the deficit nearly in half and went into the half down 39-28.

“You can't start the game out like we did,” said Rushing. “We were absolutely flat. We had no movement on offense which led to us pushing the ball.”

In the second half, the Lady Statesmen fought diligently every possession, but each offensive run DSU put up was absorbed by the Golden Suns.

“We were so out of sync on offense,” said Rushing.

Arkansas Tech's Natalia Santos was high-scorer with 25 points.

ATU finished with 44 points in the paint compared to DSU's 20.

Seniors Sheena Johnson and Bug Cooper both finished with 16 points. Bug also had eight assists and four rebounds while Johnson had three assists and three rebounds.

Moe Bell finished 3 of 8 from the arch and 4 of 10 from the field. She had 11 points, five rebounds and one assist.

The Lady Statesmen ended the night shooting 43.1 percent from the floor (28-65), 30.4 percent from the arch (7-23) and 60.9 percent from the free throw line (14-23).

“I'm proud of my seniors,” said Rushing. “I wish them well and I thank them for everything they have done for this program.

The following players made the 2011 NCAA Division II All-South Regional Team:

Veronica Walker, DSU
Bug Cooper, DSU
Natalia Santos, ATU
Laura Beth Anderson, ATU
Jenny Vining, ATU (Most Outstanding Player)