Box Score
CARROLLTON, Ga. - A last-second shot from beyond the arc handed the No. 12 Delta State University women's basketball team its second Gulf South Conference loss of the season at the hands of the University of West Georgia.
 
"We were up 11 points, and we started fouling too much," said head coach David Midlick. "We put them at the free-throw line over and over. We were reaching in 15, 18, 20 feet away from the basket – stuff we've been preaching. You can't let it come down to the last shot and they hit a big one there at the end."
 
Senior Shanae Govan and sophomore Chelsey Rhodes were sidelined for the night. Rhodes, who averages about 15 points per game, is nursing a knee injury from Monday's win over the University of West Alabama. Point guard Govan, averaging about seven points per game, was under the weather.
 
The game at The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga. on Thursday, Feb. 6 saw the home team have the better start. The Wolves (5-13, 3-9) led for about the first five minutes of the game until the Lady Statesmen (16-3, 11-2) forced a turnover followed by an Anissa Jackson jump shot to give DSU a one-point lead.
 
The teams traded possessions and the lead on the scoreboard, early on. At the 12:25 mark, a layup from leading scorer Seneca Walton gave the Lady Statesmen a lead they did not relinquish for the rest of the half. At halftime, Delta held a 27-23 lead.
 
Shooting just 36 percent from the field, the scoring was fairly spread out in the opening half for Delta State. Walton led the team with eight points and five rebounds. Jackson scored six points and Becca Ruckes had five.
 
"We have to continue to work on it," Midlick said. "We have to find some other scoring options. Chelsey didn't play tonight. It showed that they were packing it in and daring us to shoot it and we just didn't shoot it well enough. To score 50 points, you can't shut another team out and we just didn't shoot the basketball well."
 
Coming out of the locker room, West Georgia quickly brought it back to a one-point game, but then within a two-minute span, jumpers from Chadisty Hickman, Rhandi Ball and Ashley Brown gave DSU a little breathing room with an 11-point lead, 41-30.
 
Delta found itself in foul trouble early in the second half, including having to sit Walton with her fourth personal foul.  
"We were not real disciplined, defensively. Even when she went out, we started driving the ball to the basket and got up double figures, then they started chipping way at us when we were fouling," Midlick said. "We had to go zone for a few possessions and we didn't box out, out of it. I give them all the credit, they started getting aggressive and they got themselves to the free-throw line."
 
Just as quickly as relief came, it was taken away. The Lady Statesmen didn't score for about five minutes, giving the Wolves a chance to come back and bring it back to a one-point game, 43-42.
 
The team battled it out for the final seven minutes of the game, Delta held a slim lead for most of this time but things got interesting. With just :45 on the clock, DSU's Kenisha Henry fouled UWG's Shakiyla McLin. She hit two at the charity stripe and tied that game, 50-50. The Lady Statesmen had possession with less than 30 seconds to play, but Walton missed a shot and the Wolves pulled down the rebound. UWG called a timeout with 16.2 on to go. Out of that stoppage, West Georgia waited until the last second and McLin hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 53-50 win over Delta. McLin scored just five points in the entire game.
 
Neither team shot well, though UWG edged DSU 36 percent to 31 percent there. The Wolves hit six 3-pointers to Delta's one.
 
Walton led the Lady Statesmen with 12 points and seven rebounds. Jackson finished with 10 points. Ball added six points. Carly Keller and Ruckes each contributed five and Hickman scored three.
 
Delta State continues its road swing on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Shorter University. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CST.