GAME NOTES: West Alabama @ No. 11 Delta State (1.30.14) | Alabama-Huntsville @ No. 11 Delta State (2.1.14)
CLEVELAND, Miss. - The No. 11 Delta State University Lady Statesmen (14-2, 9-1 GSC) will host the Tigers (4-12, 1-9 GSC) of West Alabama and the Lady Chargers (9-7, 4-6 GSC) of Alabama-Huntsville in Gulf South Conference action this week at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The Green-and-White look to bounce back from their second loss of the season and first loss in league play.
IN THE PAINT
No. 11 Lady Statesmen of Delta State University suffered their first loss since Nov. 9 to Lynn University at the West Florida Classic in the UWF Field House.
The Green-and-White returned to the Field House for conference action and received the same result from the home team, West Florida. All four Lady Statesmen losses to the Argos in program history have come at the Field House, making the atmosphere one of the hardest to play in.
Despite suffering their first conference loss of the season, the Lady Statesmen still remain at the top of the Gulf South standings.
As a team, Delta State leads the pack in scoring defense (54.1 %), field goal percentage (46.4 %), field goal percentage defense (32.8 %), rebounding defense (33.0 rpg), and assists (16.0 apg).
Walton continues to dominate under the basket for the Lady Statesmen as she picked up her 9
th and 10
th double-doubles of the season on this week's road trip to Valdosta and West Florida.
The Clarksdale, Miss., native met milestone 500 career rebounds at Valdosta and 700 career points against North Alabama. Walton leads the GSC with 9.6 rebounds per game and a field goal percentage of 53.4 percent.
Sophomore
Chelsey Rhodes remains consistent as the driving force behind the Delta State offense. Rhodes leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 15.7 points per game. Rhodes is on the threshold of meeting the 600-career points milestone, as she sits with 594 points as only a sophomore.
6-0 junior forward
Rhandi Ball is on the cusp of reaching career milestone 700 points at 696 points with ten regular seasons to go.
Freshman
Anissa Jackson is making a name for herself on the court with the Green-and-White, averaging 20.1 minutes per game. While she only averages 4.1 points per game and 1.9 rebounds per game, Jackson is taking advantage of her playing time with excellent defense and offense help.
Point guard
Shanae Govan stands at 5-3 but uses her size and quickness to defend the league's top offensive shooters. Govan is averaging 7.1 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, and 4.4 assists per game to tie her at second in assists in the GSC.
This week, DSU will take on conference opponents West Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville.
UAH has stayed at the top of the GSC this season in scoring offense as they average 93.1 points per game. The Chargers also hold the league's leading scorer, Jordan Smith, who averages 22.8 points per game.
PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES
The No. 10 Green-and-White of Delta State University went 1-1 on the week with a win against Valdosta and a loss to West Florida. DSU continued its conference hot streak at Valdosta by taking the 65-61 victory. Three Lady Statesmen recorded double figures including
Chelsey Rhodes (25 pts),
Seneca Walton (19 pts), and
Shanae Govan (12 pts). Walton also grabbed twelve rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, while Govan also dished out six assists and took three steals. Delta State then suffered a tough loss at the West Florida Field House where the Argos gave DSU its second loss of the season, falling 58-65. Rhodes led all scorers with 23 points. Walton recorded her tenth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards, while
Rhandi Ball added 10 points and 7 rebounds. The Lady Statesmen will host West Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville this week as they look to improve on a 14-2 record overall and a 9-1 league record.
West Alabama continues to improve as the season reaches the halfway point, but unfortunately the Tigers don't have the results in the left hand column to show for it yet. After struggling in the early going of the conference season, UWA has found itself in games as the clock winds down lately, but hasn't been able to get over the hump. Union used a three-point barrage to down the Tigers last Saturday, while UNA had an 11-3 run over the last three minutes to win last Thursday. Kelcia Bufkin scored a career-high 22 points at Union. Quentinette Odom scored 18 points in both games last week. The Tigers close out a four-game road swing at Delta State and Christian Brothers this week before playing six of the last eight games at home.
UAH dropped both of its contests this week, starting with a 105-86 setback at Union. Jordan Smith hit four 3s on the night to total 23 and lead UAH, while Hammon scored 22 and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Shannon Steinert who chipped in with 11, and Juanice Newton was strong on the glass once again as she collected seven boards. On Saturday, UAH traveled to rival UNA and led throughout the vast majority of the contest before a furious North Alabama comeback produced an 82-79 victory for the Lions. Hammon was impressive in the contest, scoring 27 and grabbing nine rebounds in her final trip to Florence. In her four career games at Flowers Hall, the Muscle Shoals, Ala., native averaged 20 points per contest at UNA. Also strong in the game for UAH was Newton as she recorded her team-best fourth double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds including eight on the offensive glass, helping the Lady Chargers outscore UNA in second-chance points by a 20-8 clip.
EARLIER THIS SEASON
The Lady Statesmen faced the Tigers previously this season at Pruitt Hall on Dec. 19 and resulted in a W for DSU, 77-43.
Seneca Walton led Delta State in the win with 19 points and 10 boards, one of her first of many double-doubles this season.
Rhandi Ball joined Walton in double figures with 14 points and 4 boards. West Alabama's Quentinette Odom led the Tigers with 10 points and 6 boards. Three other UWA players contributed eight points each. DSU shot 64.7 percent from the field, which still stands as its highest shooting percentage on the season, and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. The Lady Statesman defense held the Tigers to 29.2 percent form the field.
At the time of their first meeting this season, Delta State and Alabama-Huntsville were two of the top teams in the conference. The two squads met at Spragins Hall on Dec. 21 this season, where the Lady Statesmen defeated the league's offensive leader in the Lady Chargers.
Chelsey Rhodes led with a career-high 26 points.
Seneca Walton added 21 points and 12 boards, while senior
Shanae Govan provided a career-high 13 points as she also dished out 4 assists and grabbed 5 steals. UAH's Jordan Smith led with 20 points, while Juanice Newton added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
STATISTICALLY SENSATIONAL
Still two of the top teams in the conference, Delta State and Alabama-Huntsville lead the pack in many of the categories in the Gulf South that will make this game evenly matched from the get-go. For instance, Huntsville leads the league in scoring offense (93.1 ppg), while Delta State leads the conference in scoring defense (54.1 ppg). Defense is the name of the game for Coach David Midlick and his squad, also ranking first in field goal defense (32.8 %) and rebounding defense (33.0 rpg), whereas Huntsville leads in rebound offense (49.3 rpg). UAH prides itself on getting things started on offense. The Lady Chargers also lead the league in three-point field goals made (8.8 per game) and free throw percentage (75.8 percent). Huntsville takes advantage of opponent fouls and relies a lot on senior guard Jordan Smith. From the start of the season, Smith has led the Lady Chargers and the conference overall in scoring. She sits now at 22.8 points per game. The closest within reach is teammate Jasmine Hammon with 19.9 point per game. Leading the conference in steals with 3.6 steals per game is Lady Charger Shannon Steinert.
INSIDE THE SERIES
West Alabama- The Lady Statesmen lead the series with West Alabama with a 43-4 overall record. Last season saw the two squads splitting the series, each team winning at home. On January 17, 2013, Delta State defeated West Alabama at Walter Sillers with a final of 58-32.
Seneca Walton led the Lady Statesmen with a double-double, 15 points and a whopping 23 rebounds. West Alabama's Nikkia Jordan led the Tigers with 14 points and five rebounds. Delta State shot 36.4 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from long range, and 76.2 percent from the line. The Delta defense held the Tigers to a 20.3 field goal percentage. The Tigers looked for redemption and found it on February 21, 2013 at Pruitt Hall in Livingston, defeating Delta State 63-61. Jordan led again with 24 points and three rebounds, while Walton led again for Delta State with 17 points and five rebounds. The Lady Statesmen shot 43.4 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from downtown, and 55.6 percent from the free throw line.
Alabama-Huntsville- The matchup with Delta State and Alabama-Huntsville has turned into a competitive tradition over the last couple years. The Lady Statesmen lead the series 12-4 with three of those losses coming in the last two seasons. Last season saw the two squads meeting four times, with an even 2-2 series record, as both teams made valiant efforts in postseason play. The last two meetings came in the postseason in the Gulf South Conference tournament and the NCAA South Region tournament. The Chargers defeated the Lady Statesmen on March 9, 2013 by a score of 68-57 to put Delta State out of the running to earn the GSC crown. Alabama-Huntsville would go on to be named the Gulf South Champions. Jordan Smith led the Chargers with 23 points and five rebounds, while
Rhandi Ball dropped a double-double performance with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Alabama-Huntsville held Delta State to a 33.3 field goal percentage as they shot 42.6 percent from the field in the win.Delta State sought revenge in the NCAA DII South Region semi-final matchup with the Chargers. The Lady Statesmen found what they were looking for as they beat Alabama-Huntsville 81-58 to move on to the South Region championship game.
Brittany Roberts, now graduated, guided Delta State with 22 points and six rebounds with
Seneca Walton recording a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Chargers were led by Kendra Jones with ten points and four rebounds. The Lady Statesmen shot 45.5 percent from the field and held Alabama-Huntsville to a 35.1 field goal percentage.
