CLEVELAND, Miss. – Lady Statesmen women's basketball at Delta State University is set for an exciting new season to begin on Monday, Nov. 4 with an exhibition at the University of South Alabama.
The Lady Statesmen are coming off a 14-15 season that included a 12-12 record in the Gulf South Conference. Delta State went on a four-game winning streak to begin 2024, winning over Shorter and Lee at home and West Georgia and Christian Brothers on the road. They strung together another three-game in streak from Feb. 8-15 with wins over Alabama-Huntsville, West Alabama, and Shorter that ensured a spot in the GSC tournament.
As a team, the Lady Statesmen averaged 58.9 points per game and held opponents to 61.8 points per game. The Green-and-White return leading scorer
Grace Watson, a forward from Hazel Green, Ala. Other top performers returning from last season are seniors Wakirya Daniels and
MaKenzie Hill who averaged 8.5 and 5.4 points per game, respectively.
Watson, a 6-foot-0 junior forward from Hazel Green, Ala., led the Lady Statesmen in rebounds and points, tallying a total of 261 points and 195 rebounds last season. Watson is excited for the new season and eager to get on the floor with new and returning players. "I feel like we have all the pieces to be successful this year. Our overall goal is to make it to the conference championship. We want to continue to get better every day, and make it further than we did last year."
Daniels, a 5-foot-6 guard, returns for the 2024-25 season. The Jonesboro, Ark., native scored a career-high 30 points on 13-of-19 from the field against Henderson State on Nov. 15, 2023. Also returning is 5-foot-9 guard Madi Kate Vucannon from Tiplersville. Vucannon put up a season-high 16 points versus Union and finished the season with a 76.5 free throw percentage.
Head Coach Tracy Stewart-Lange is optimistic about the squad assembled for this season. "This group is starting to resemble a team that truly cares about each other, and they have a great spirit about them. The Gulf South Conference competition and travel will really test these new players, and I am really relying on strong leadership from our returners to give them necessary mentoring and support. It has been a fun preseason, and we all have great excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season."
The non-conference schedule features home games against LeMoyne-Owen, Arkansas Tech, and Harding, with road games versus Lane, Henderson State, and Southern Arkansas. Conference begins with a road swing on Thursday, Dec. 5 at Union and Saturday, Dec. 7 at Christian Brothers.
The Lady Statesmen were picked to finish sixth, tied with new GSC member Trevecca Nazarene, in the preseason GSC Coaches' Poll, as voted on by the head coaches in the league.
