Box Score CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University women's basketball team came out of the locker room ready to start the second half off on the right foot, and the No. 16 Lady Statesmen made sure everyone at Walter Sillers Coliseum knew whose floor it was. That surge to kick off the second half of action, led by Seneca Walton and Chelsey Rhodes, helped DSU beat Gulf South Conference rival Christian Brothers University 66-61.
 
Good defense was the story of the first half and the Lady Statesmen (18-4, 13-3 GSC) went on a run late in the opening half that brought the score to a one-point game, in the Buccaneers' (12-10, 8-8 GSC) favor, just before halftime. Contributing to that run were players coming off the bench for Delta State and those ladies were important early. For the first eight points scored by DSU, six came from non-starters.
 
Junior Rhandi Ball picked up two fouls quickly in the first half, she was replaced by Myiesha Stewart who picked up two fouls of her own after she scored the first points for the Lady Statesmen. Stewart would go on to score a career-high eight points. Head coach David Midlick sent Becca Ruckes into the game for Stewart so the bench got plenty of time on the court early on.
 
About four minutes into the game, Anissa Jackson put Delta State on top by two points but Christian Brothers tied that up, then took the lead for the rest of half.
 
With 1:30 on the clock in the first half, Rhodes hit two momentum-swinging free throws. Jackson followed that up with a jumper with 42 seconds on the clock, and Delta State cut the CBU lead to just one point. The ball got tossed around before the buzzer so DSU didn't get a chance to take the lead, but Christian Brothers led just 28-27 at halftime.
 
Seneca Walton helped out in the opening half leading the Lady Statesmen with eight points and five rebounds. Jackson had five points after coming off the bench and playing 14 minutes.  
The start of the second half set the tone. Delta State shot 52 percent while holding CBU to 39 percent, starting with a jumper from Walter just 10 seconds in. Rhodes followed that with her only 3-pointer of the game, which game at a very opportune time. Off the shot from Rhodes, Delta State took a 32-30 lead and the Lady Statesmen never trailed again.
 
From there it was a bit of a shooting spree. Stewart, Alexis Ross and Walton scored back to back, giving DSU an eight point lead with barely three minutes gone from the clock in the second half. A layup and a jump shot from Stewart made it a 10-point lead for the Lady Statesmen before the first media timeout was called.
 
Delta State held a fairly comfortable lead for the next couple of minutes. At the 8:36 mark, the Buccaneers cut DSU's lead to two points, 49-47, but Rhodes scored her 14^th point after throwing in a layup, drawing a foul and making good on the three-point play.
 
The score stayed close from there. Christian Brothers got within one point, 62-61, with less than a minute on the clock. Rhodes and Walton sealed the game at the free-throw line in the final minute and Delta State picked up a conference win over CBU 66-61.
 
Walton added nine points to her first half totals and finished the game with 17 points and seven rebounds. The junior from Clarksdale was 7-11 shooting. Rhodes exploded in the second half and finished with 17 points, going 4-8 from the floor and 8-11 at the charity stripe. Stewart came off the bench to contribute eight points and pull down seven rebounds. Jackson was also a strong performer as a non-starter, scoring seven points. Ross, also off the bench, put up six points along with Shanae Govan. The senior also dished out eight assists.
 
The Lady Statesmen get a few days of rest before hitting the road for the final away games of GSC play. Delta State is at the University of North Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 20 and at Union University on Saturday, Feb. 22. Game times are at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m.