CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Lady Statesmen basketball team (11-7, 7-5 GSC) faced off against Christian Brothers University (0-17, 0-12 GSC) on Thursday night in Sillers Coliseum, defeating the Lady Bucs 67-53 while shooting 24-for-61 from the field.

DSU went 7-for-16 from the field in the first quarter of play, scoring five points on two turnovers. There were two lead changes in the first quarter, but when the Lady Statesmen took the lead at the 5:24 mark on a Madi Kate Vuncannon three-pointer, they never trailed again.

To start the second quarter, the Lady Statesmen came out hot shooting 45% from three-point range. DSU dominated the boards, pulling down 16 defensive rebounds and scoring 14 points on second-chance attempts. Wakiryah Daniels found her groove knocking down two three-pointers. The senior scored 12 points in the first half, guiding the Lady Statesmen to a 34-24 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Green-and-White started the third quarter strong, showing great perseverance on the defensive end while outscoring the Lady Bucs 20-13. The Lady Statesmen were able to extend their lead to 54-37 to close out third quarter.

Although the Lady Bucs forced seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, DSU was able to pull down 12 boards, scoring seven second-chance points in the final quarter of play. Despite being outscored 16-12 in the fourth, DSU was able to pull out the 67-53 victory.

The Lady Statesmen were led by Daniels with 18 points and sophomore Vucannon with 15 points and 8 rebounds.

Delta State continues conference play, taking on No. 20 Union University on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m at Sillers Coliseum.