CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University women's basketball went on a 20-2 run in the fourth quarter to erase a 75-71 deficit en route to a 91-77 win over arch rival Mississippi College (7-18, 3-16 GSC) on Senior Day Sat., Feb. 23  at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

Nia Johnson poured in a career-high 28 points to lead four Lady Statesmen in double digits.

Seniors Frederica Haywood and Alondrea Rush also had big Senior Days. Haywood scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to post her fourth double-double of the season. Rush chipped add 14 points, including four three-pointers to move into second place all-time on the Lady Statesmen career 3-pointers list with 209. The Horn Lake, Miss.. native past DSU Assistant Coach Chelsey Rhodes (206).

Quantesha Patterson added 12 points as the final Lady Statesmen in double figures.
 
THE BASICS:
Score:  Delta State 91 | Mississippi College 77
Records: Lady Statesmen 17-9, 12-7 GSC | Choctaws 7-18, 3-16 GSC
Series: Delta State leads 54-10 | 28-4 at Walter Sillers
Location | Time: Walter Sillers Coliseum | 2 PM EST
Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateWBB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The opening quarter saw three ties and two lead changes with Delta State taking an early 4-0 lead on a Haywood back less than one minute into the game.
• MC went on an 8-0 to take a 12-6 lead on a Lauren Sherriff jump shot with 4:54 left in the first quarter
• Delta State answered with an 8-0 run of its own to go back in front 14-12 on a pair of Johnson free throws with 3:50 remaining.
• After Mc grabbed an 18-14 lead, DSU went on a 7-0 run to close the quarter with a 21-18 lead after a Kirstin Brown layup.
• Neither team led by more than three points throughout most of the second quarter that featured five ties and 13 lead changes.
• Ernesha Chatman gave the Lady Statesmen a 44-40 lead with 44 seconds left before MC closed the first half on a 4-0 run to tie the game 44-44 at halftime
• The Lady Statesmen built a 56-45 lead on an Aliyah Herrod short jumper with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
• Kirsten Thompson's bucket with 20 seconds left gave the Choctaws a 67-65 lead going into the final quarter.
• The Choctaws held the lead much of the fourth quarter, leading by as many as four at the 6:15 mark.
• The Choctaws held a 75-71 with 3:31 left before the Lady Statesmen outscored MC 20-2 to close the game.
• Brown gave DSU the lead for good, 76-75 with 4:22 left while Johnson added nine points during the stretch including going 5-for-5 from the charity stripe along with a 3-point play. 
• Delta State was 7-for-7 from the free throw line over the final 3:31. 

TURNING POINT

•   The Lady Statesmen close the game on a 20-2 run to erase a 75-73 deficit over the final 3:31 of the game to take the 91-77 win.

STAT OF THE GAME

•  The Lady Statesmen 91 points was a season-high eclipsing the old mark of 83 set against Christian Brothers.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Rush went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc to move past Chelsey Rhodes (206) for second in career 3-pointers made with 209. The Horn Lake, Miss., native also third all-time in 3-pointers attempted with 608.
• Haywood's 18 points and 11 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season and her 10th game with double-figure rebounds. The Mound Bayou, Miss., native also tied her career-best with four assists.
• Johnson 28 points eclipsed her old career-high of 26 points set at Shorter earlier this season.
• Rush finished 14 points to for her 10th game in double figures and remains 29th on the DSU career scoring list with 1,177 points.
• Patterson chipped in 14 points for her 14th game in double figures.
• The Lady Statesmen have won five straight and now the lead the series 54-10 and 28-7 at Walter Sillers. 

UP NEXT
The Lady Statesmen travel to the University of Montevallo for the regular season finale on Thurs., Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Montevallo, Ala.