GAME NOTES: Lee @ Delta State (2.13.14) | CBU @ Delta State (2.17.14)
CLEVELAND, Miss. - No. 16 Delta State University women's basketball team (17-3, 12-2 GSC) will host the Lady Flames (15-4, 11-2 GSC) of Lee University and the Lady Bucs (12-8, 8-6 GSC) of Christian Brothers University this week at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The Lady Statesmen will face the Lady Flames on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. and the Lady Bucs on Monday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
TIPOFF
Lady Statesmen continued the 2013-14 campaign this week with a grueling road schedule to Georgia where they faced the Wolves of West Georgia and the Lady Hawks of Shorter University.
Delta State suffered its third loss of the season and its second loss in Gulf South Conference play as the Green-and-White fell 53-50 to the Wolves on Thursday night.
The last time DSU lost to UWG was in Feb. 8, 1992 under head coach Lloyd Clark. West Georgia went on to eliminate Delta State from the conference tournament that same year.
This week, the Lady Statesmen will face a tough challenge as they take on the Lady Flames of Lee University for the second time this season and in program history.
The last meeting between the two squads saw an intensely close game between two of the best teams in the league with Delta State taking the 71-64 win.
This meeting, the two squads remain the two best teams in the league with DSU sitting atop the GSC standings and Lee following right behind in the No. 2 spot.
Lee's Hollie German is a game changer for the Lady Flames as she leads the team in offense with 24.6 points per game. Â
Christian Brothers cannot be counted out as they continue to rise in the league standings. Excluding the ineligible teams, Christian Brothers ranks third in the GSC.
Breanna Ridgell is strongly responsible for the Lady Bucs' success this season, as she ranks third in the conference in scoring with 16.0 points per game.
The Lady Statesmen took the 61-53 win over the Lady Bucs in their last meeting this season.
Clarksdale, Miss., native
Seneca Walton continues to dominate down low for DSU as she stands with 12 double-doubles on the year. She is averaging a double-double, 15.1 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game.
Walton remains at the top of the rebounding categories for the Gulf South, as she leads the league with 10.3 rebounds per game. She is also leading in offensive categories with the best shooting percent at 52.9 percent.
As a team, the Lady Statesmen lead the nation in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
In league play, DSU leads in scoring defense with 53.6 points per game, field goal percentage offense with 44.8 percent, field goal percentage defense with 33.0 percent, and rebounding defense with 33.6 rebounds per game.
PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES
The Delta State University women's basketball team went 1-1this week with a 59-56 win over Shorter and a 53-50 loss toWest Georgia.
Seneca Walton led the Lady Statesmen in both games recording 12 points and 7 rebounds in the loss to UWG. Freshman
Anissa Jackson joined Walton in double figures with10 points. The Green-and-White shot 30.9 percent from the field. DSU bounced back from the loss to claim the win over Shorter. Walton recorded her 12th double-double of the year as she put up 20 points and 16 boards. She also added one assist, one block, and two steals. Jackson and
Rhandi Ball contributed double figures, Jackson with a career-high 13 points and Ball with 10 points. Delta State shot 44.2 percent from the field in the win. The Lady Statesmen are now 17-3 on the season and 12-2 in league play, still atop the standings in the GSC.
The Lee women's basketball (15-4, 11-2) team continued to keep pace with conference leaders Delta State as they won a pair of home contests last week. The Lady Flames began the week with a 79-68 victory over the University of North Alabama. Hollie German and Jenna Adams led the Lady Flames offensive attack with 21 points respectively. Madison Lee joined her teammates in double-figures with 10 points while pulling down five boards. On Saturday Lee completed its first ever season sweep of longtime rival Union University with a 70-65 victory. The contest was tied nine times and also featured nine lead changes. Union led 27-23 at the half but Lee opened quickly in the second half and shot a blistering 52 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. On the other hand Union, a 3-point shooting team, was only able to convert 7-of-22 attempts from behind the arc against the stingy Lee defense. After a slow start, German finished strong and knocked down 6-of-9 3-pointers and converted all six of her free throws. She finished with 26 points and four rebounds. Adams also closed strong and recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Flames will hit the road and face Delta State in a showdown game on Thursday in Cleveland, Miss. The Lady Statesmen handed the Lady Flames their only home defeat of the year.
The Lady Bucs split their final long road trip of the season, winning 63-61 in overtime at Shorter but losing 65-55 at West Georgia. Thursday at Shorter, Erica Burgess knocked down a shot in the lane as time expired to give CBU the victory in overtime after Samantha Reeves forced overtime with a three-pointer with 27 seconds remaining. Reeves scored 19 with nine rebounds, and Burgess scored 15. Breanna Ridgell added 13. Saturday, UWG outscored the Lady Bucs 18-5 over the final nine minutes after CBU had led much of the game. Reeves scored 18 with nine rebounds, Burgess scored 11, and Ridgell had 10. The Lady Bucs' game at Delta State tonight was canceled. CBU hosts Lee Saturday afternoon.
INSIDE THE SERIES
The series between Lee and Delta State is a short one with the two squads only meeting once in program history. DSU leads the series 1-0 with the Lady Statesmen taking the 71-64 win over Lee earlier this season and snapping a 43-game home win streak held by the Lady Flames. The intensity of the first meeting foreshadows what is sure to be a long-lived rivalry between the Green-and-White and Lee. Two perennial powerhouses in women's basketball, both DSU and LU hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots respectively in the Gulf South standings.
The last meeting between the Lady Statesmen and the Lady Flames saw DSU claiming the 71-64 victory.
Seneca Walton led the Green-and-White with 22 points, 11 rebounds, while adding one assist, two steals, and one block.
Chelsey Rhodes also contributed double figures with 16 points. Lee's Hollie German led all scorers with 28 points, while Jenna Adams added 17 points.
EARLIER THIS SEASON
The Lady Bucs and Lady Statesmen met earlier this season on Dec. 14. Delta State took the 61-53 victory over Christian Brothers to open conference play for the season.
Chelsey Rhodes led all scorers with 22 points.
Rhandi Ball and
Seneca Walton joined Rhodes in double figures, Ball scoring 11 points and Walton scoring 10 points. CBU's Madison Luckett led the Lady Bucs with 17 points, while Breanna Ridgell added 15 points.
WALTON DOES WORK
The success of Delta State's season lies heavily with the paramount contributions of juniorÂ
Seneca Walton. The 6-0 center out of Clarksdale, Miss., continues to be the driving force for the Lady Statesmen on both sides of the ball.
Walton leads the Gulf South Conference in rebounding with 10.1 rebounds per game, while also leading in field goal percentage (53.0 %). She is currently averaging a double-double, 14.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game, which has also given her 11 double-doubles on the season.
Walton's stellar performance against top team Alabama-Huntsville hoisted DSU to a 65-60 overtime win, where Walton had 14 points and a season-high 21 rebounds. Delta State's offensive efforts in the last two games has seen Walton leading the team with 14 points over UAH and 20 points over UWA, the only Lady Statesmen to reach double figures in each game.
Career milestones have been reached and eclipsed by Walton as she has reached several already this season just as a junior. Walton reached 800 career points against West Alabama and 500 career rebounds against North Alabama. She currently sits at 804 points and 539 rebounds.
STATISTICALLY SENSATIONAL
The top team in the conference, Delta State leads the pack in many of the categories in the Gulf South that make them the toughest team in the league. Defense is the name of the game for Coach David Midlick and his squad, as the Lady Statesmen rank first in scoring defense (53.6 ppg), field goal percentage defense (33.0 %) and rebounding defense (33.6 rpg). On the other side of the ball, the Green-and-White lead the league in field goal percentage (44.8 %) and assists (15.2 apg). Nationally, Delta State leads the country in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
