Game Notes: Delta State Lady Statesmen vs. Paine College/Lane College 11.15-16.19)
CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Delta State University women's basketball travels to Fairfield, Ala., for the the Miles College Lady Bears Tipoff Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Statesmen take on Lane College on Friday at 4 p.m. before taking on Paine at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
WEEKEND REWIND: The Lady Statesmen hosted the GSC/SSC Crossover taking down Barry University, 66-58, on Friday and No. 20/10 Nova Southeastern, 85-78, on Saturday to start a season 2-0 for the first-time since 2015-16.
Nia Johnson scored 20 points and
Zyaire Ewing added 17 points while
Quantesha Patterson pulled down 11 rebounds to pace the Lady Statesmen past Barry. Five Lady Statesmen scored in double figures in the win over the Sharks on Saturday. Ewing had 28 points and 15 rebounds and Patterson followed with 16 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Lady Statesmen.
Nia Johnson chipped in 15 points followed by Chatman with 12 and
Shaniyah Buford with 11.
LADY STATESMEN DEBUTS: Shaniyah Buford, T'kyria Hicks,
Kaylyn Wilson and
Taneshia Miller made their Lady Statesmen debuts on opening weekend. Buford scored 11 points against Nova Southeastern, averaging nine points, three rebounds and 4.5 assists while going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in two games. Hicks, who collected four rebounds in the season opener against Barry and averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds with two steals.
TWIN POSTS: Seniors
Quantesha Patterson and
Zyaire Ewing served notice in the GSC/SSC Crossover that the duo could be hard to handle in the post for Lady Statesmen opponents. Patterson averaged 12 points and 15 rebounds with three steals and a block in two games. The Maben, Miss., native had eight points, 11 rebounds and two steals against Barry before posting 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds against Nova Southeastern. Ewing tallied 17 points and six rebounds with a block and a steal against Barry. The Natchez, Miss., native followed up with 28 points and 15 rebounds while making 10-of-11 free throws against the Sharks.
SOLID NUCLEUS RETURNS: In addition to Johnson and Patterson,
Ernesha Chatman (Sr./Guard),
Aliyah Herod (Sr./Guard),
Zyaire Ewing (Jr./Forward),
Kirstin Brown (So./Forward), and
Raven Johnson (Jr./Forward) make up seven returnees that accounted for 79.2 percent of its scoring and 59.6 percent of its rebounding last season. Johnson led the Lady Statesmen with 14.7 points (9th GSC), 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists (10th GSC) and 1.4 steals per game. The Sandersville, Ga., native shot 45.3 percent from the floor (6th GSC) and led the GSC with an 85.2 free throw percentage. Johnson scored in double figures 21 times, including six games with 20-plus points. Patterson averaged 11.5 points (17th GSC) and 7.6 rebounds (10th GSC) per contest and shot a GSC leading 63.6 percent from the floor (124-of-195). Patterson scored in double-figures 16 times and had six games with double-digit rebounds and six double-doubles. Chatman averaged 6.2 points and 2.3 boards per game while Ewing averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 points per game. Brown averaged 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while Johnson, whose season was cut short due to injury, averaged 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 points per contest.
Aliyah Herod chipped in 3.1 points and 1.5 boards per game.
PRESEASON SIAC: Lane College is picked fourth in the West Division while Paine College is picked fourth in the East Division according to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Paine's Keondra Archie, who was a 2018-19 All-SIAC selection, was named First-Team Preseason All-SIAC and Miles' Najle Shamsid-Deen was named to the second-team.
NOTES, SIDEBARS & STORYLINES
NEW ADDITIONS: Guards
Shaniyah Buford (Jr./Abbeville, Miss./Itawamba CC) and
T'Kyra Hicks (Jr./Benoit, Miss./Co-Lin CC) represent Delta State's newcomers on the GSC Top Newcomers list. Four junior college transfers and two high school signees make up the Lady Statesmen newcomers.
Kaylyn Wilson (Jr./G/Columbus, Miss./Itawamba CC),
Taneshia Miller (Jr./G/Greenville, Miss./Itawamba CC) join Buford and Hicks as junior college transfers.
Andrea Duran (Fr./G/Queretaro, N.M./Germantown (Miss.) HS) and
Gracelyn Jones (Fr./G/Yazoo City, Miss./Manchester Academy) round out the newcomers.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES (Career): Quantesha Patterson (7) notched her first double-double of the year with 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds against Nova Southeastern.
Zyaire Ewing (3) scored a career-high 28 points and collected 15 rebounds against Nova Southeastern.
D2SIDA REGION POLL: Delta State is ranked ninth in the D2SIDA Preseason Region rankings while Nova Southeastern is first followed by Union (TN) University and Florida Southern tied for second. Lee University and West Florida round out the top five in the poll.
HALL OF FAME '19: One of the most decorated classes in the history of Delta State University is set for induction into the Athletics Hall of Fame, as DSU officially named its honorees on Monday, Nov. 4. Eight Statesmen and Lady Statesmen are featured in this year's class, including Jennifer Artichuk (Women's Swimming), Michael Eubanks (Football), Nicole Trotter Francis (Women's Basketball), Lardester Hicks-Green (Football), Mark Hudspeth (Football/Coaches HoF), Edwin Maysonet (Baseball), Dr. Clyde Muse (Men's Basketball), and Jeremy Richardson (Men's Basketball).
