GAME NOTES: No. 10 Delta State @ Valdosta (1.23.14)/West Florida (1.25.14)
CLEVELAND, Miss. - Head coach David Midlick and company will make their longest road trip of the season this week as the Green-and-White of Delta State University travels to Valdosta State University and the University of West Florida. Delta State (13-1, 8-0 GSC) will take on the Lady Blazers (9-5, 4-4 GSC) on Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Complex in Valdosta, Ga., then head east to take on the Argos (10-4, 5-3 GSC) on Saturday, Jan. 25.
IN THE PAINT
The Green-and-White of Delta State University continued their 12-game win streak with two wins over top Gulf South Conference opponents North Alabama and Union University.
Delta State sits at the top of the GSC standings with a perfect 8-0 record as they dominate league play. With a 63-59 win over UNA and a 57-51 decision over Union this week, DSU remains undefeated.
Three Lady Statesmen hold high rankings in the Gulf South with their outstanding play this season, including
Seneca Walton,
Shanae Govan, and
Chelsey Rhodes.
Junior
Seneca Walton holds the No. 1 ranking in rebounds (9.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (55.0 %).
Crossett, Ark., native,
Shanae Govan, leads the league in assist/turnover ratio with a 1.5 ratio in only 13 games. She is tied for first in assists with 4.6 assists per game.
As a team, DSU is No. 1 in scoring defense (52.7 ppg), field goal percentage offense (46.5 %), field goal percentage defense (31.5 %), and rebounding defense (32.5 rpg).
Walton is guiding the Lady Statesmen in her efforts under the basket. She has recorded eight double-doubles this season after her 26 point, 12 board performance against Union. She surpassed the 700-point milestone against North Alabama and is just 11 rebounds away from 500 career rebounds.
In two crucial games against perennial powerhouses Lee and Union, Walton contributed season-best performances with 22 points and 26 points respectively.
Govan is leaving everything out on the court for her last season with Delta State. She leads the team in steals (40) and assists (60) and is the epitome of a leader for her teammates.
Sophomore
Chelsey Rhodes continues to be a driving force behind the Lady Statesman offense. She averages 14.5 points per game, which is enough to earn her a No. 7 rank in the league in scoring.
Delta State will make its longest road trip of the season this week as head coach David Midlick and company travel to Valdosta State and West Florida for league play.
Although DSU improved to 13-1 on the season, they drop one spot in the USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll to No. 10 as Drury University (Mo.) moved ahead to No. 9.
PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES
The Lady Statesmen of Delta State University grabbed two important conference wins this week to stay at the top of the Gulf South standings with a perfect 8-0 record. The Green-and-White claimed a 63-59 win over the Lions of North Alabama on Thurs- day night in Cleveland, Miss.
Seneca Walton guided DSU over the Lions by contributing 14 points and 9 rebounds. Sophomore
Becca Ruckes joined Walton in double figures with 10 points in the win. The Green-and-White shot 31.8 percent from the field and 80.8 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Statesmen claimed a 57-51 decision over the Lady Bulldogs Saturday afternoon. Walton sealed the deal as she recorded a season-high 26 points to lead Delta State to the victory.
Chelsey Rhodes added 11 points. DSU held on to beat Union by shooting 46.9 per- cent from the field and outrebounding the Lady Bulldogs 36-31. Delta State will travel to Valdosta State and West Florida this week for conference action.
The Lady Blazers split a pair of conference road games last week with a tough 51-55 loss on Thursday to West Georgia followed?by a bounce back 71-59 victory over the Lady Hawks of Shorter on Saturday. Saturday's win allowed Valdosta State to finish a treacherous road trip off on a high note. Prior to the win, VSU had fallen in three straight GSC contests. April Thomas led the charge once again for the Lady Blazers with a 20-point game on Thursday night against the Lady Wolves that included 13 unanswered second half points by the junior. In addition, Thomas connected on four of six attempts from long distance to aid a 17-point outing against Shorter. Her recent numbers have launched her into the league's top five in points per game at 15.4, and she claims the top spot among all players in three point shooting with a .422 average. Valdosta State makes a long awaited return to The Complex in Valdosta on Thursday night to host No. 9 Delta State at 6:00 p.m. EST.
The West Florida women's basketball team lost a Gulf South Confer- ence contest on the road at Shorter 66-56 Jan. 16. The loss snapped UWF's four-game winning streak and was the Argonauts' first loss in 2014. UWF was led by junior Jenny Menz, who scored 16 points, while going 7-for-9 from the field and senior Tessah Holt, who scored 13points. UWF downed West Georgia 65-60 on the road at the Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga. Jan. 18. Holt and Toynetta Johnson led UWF in the victory. Holt scored 19 points and added two steals, two assists and six rebounds while Johnson scored 18 points and recorded three steals, two assists and seven rebounds. The Argos improved to 5-1 in 2014 and 3-1 on the road in the past two weeks.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Delta State swept the series with Valdosta State last season 2-0. Last year saw the Lady Blazers and Lady Statesmen meeting for two games, one at the end of January and the other at the beginning of March. Game one had DSU defeating VSU 52-48 in Valdosta.
Rhandi Ball led the Green-and-White with 21 points, while Lady Blazer Brittney Nelson had 13 points. Delta State prevailed in game two by a score of 77-63 with
Chelsey Rhodes leading both teams with 24 points and Nelson leading VSU with 18 points.
The Lady Statesmen lead the series over the Lady Blazers 32-5 with a three-game win streak. This meeting will mark the 38
th meeting all time between the two squads.
West Florida stunned Delta State last season as they gave DSU one of its only GSC losses. However, the Green-and-White still held the series 2-1. The Argos and Lady Statesmen met three times last year, including the opening round of the conference tournament. Game one of the regular season was taken by UWF by a score of 66-51.
Chelsey Rhodes led the Lady Statesmen with 12 points, while West Florida's Hanna Vette led both teams with 23 points. In game two, the Green-and-White had something to prove on their home court and did just that. DSU defeated UWF 65-53 with help from Rhodes' 18-point night. Three Argos contributed 11 points each. The two teams met again in postseason conference play with the series tied on the year at one even entering the first round of the GSC Tournament. Delta State continued its season as they gave another loss to West Florida in a close decision, 61-58.
Rhandi Ball led with 25 points, while West Florida's Toynetta Johnson recorded 12 points.
DSU leads the series 12-3 over the Argos. This marks the 16
th meeting between the two programs with Delta State holding a two-game win streak in the series.
TRIPLE THREAT MEETING MILESTONES
Seneca Walton, a center out of Clarksdale, Miss., has surpassed two milestones early into her junior season. She eclipsed 700 career points against the University of North Alabama and 400 rebounds against Belhaven University. Head coach David Midlick said, "Seneca has done a great job for us in both scoring and rebounding as the milestones reflect. We count on her to be a low post presence and to get big rebounds for us, and she delivers for the team." Walton currently sits at 739 career points and 489 career rebounds.
A junior forward and native of Pontotoc, Miss.,
Rhandi Ball reached two career milestones just six games into the season. Ball reached 400 career rebounds against Stillman and 600 career points against Paine College. "Rhandi not only scores and rebounds for us, but she often draws a tough defensive assignment. She plays both on the inside and outside and has done a great job for the team so far this year," Midlick added. She sits at 684 career points and 462 career rebounds.
Sophomore sensation,
Chelsey Rhodes, reached career milestone 500-career points in just her second season. Midlick said, "Chelsey has scored since the first game of her freshman year. She has 3-point range and is able to go to the basket or pull up for a jump shot. She works hard every day in practice to expand her game." She currently has 546 career points.
LADY STATESMEN ATOP THE GSC
Nearing the halfway mark of the conference schedule, the Green-and-White sit at the top of the Gulf South Conference standings with the only perfect record, 8-0. Not only does Delta State rank No. 1 in the standings but it also ranks at the top of several categories.
As a team, the Green-and-White are number one in scoring defense (52.7 ppg), field goal percentage (46.5 %), field goal percentage defense (31.5 %), and rebounding defense (32.5 rpg).
Several Lady Statesmen rank in individual categories.
Seneca Walton and
Chelsey Rhodes rank 6
th and 7
th respectively in scoring in the GSC. Rhodes ranks seventh with 14.5 points per game. Walton continues to guide Delta State in her efforts under the goal. With 14.6 points per game, Walton ranks sixth in the GSC in scoring. She holds the No. 1 spot in rebounds with 9.4 rebounds per game, with the next closest contender recording 8.9 rebounds per game. Walton also ranks first in field goal percentage (55.0 %). The junior out of Clarksdale, Miss., recorded her eighth double-double of the season against in DSU's victory over Union University, putting up a season-high 26 points and 12 boards.
Senior
Shanae Govan packs a mighty punch as she is making her mark in her last season with Delta State. She ranks first in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) in just 13 games played. She is tied for first in assists with 4.6 assists per game. Ranking fourth, Govan averages 33.5 minutes per game, which makes her the Lady Statesmen that stays on the floor the most.
