CLEVELAND, Miss. – The no. 3 seeded Delta State University Women's Basketball team will be headed to Jackson, Tenn., for the second time this year to take on the no. 2 seeded Lady Bulldogs from Union University Thursday evening for the Gulf South Conference Semifinals.
 
DSU and Union will tip off at 6:00 p.m. (CT) at Fred DeLay gymnasium on the campus of Union University.
 
The Voice of the Statesmen Michael Gross and Braden Treaster will be on the call from the Statesmen Sports Radio Network on 107.4 FM with the pregame show starting at 5:30 p.m. (CT).
 
The Lady Statesmen won the regular season series with a 67-62 win to open up conference play at Walter Sillers in early December and followed it up with a 80-77 thriller at Fred DeLay Gymnasium in mid February.
Scouting the Lady Statesmen

• Delta State has made it to the conference semifinals for the first time since the 2021-22 season where they were a five seed. The Lady Statesmen defeated the six seeded Blazers from Valdosta State University 61-44 Monday night at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
• The Lady Statesmen have two players that earned GSC postseason awards starting with senior forward Dakiya Toney who earned Defensive Player of the Year.
• Toney has been an impact player for the Lady Statesmen in the 2025-26 season in the front court. The Lake Village, Ark., native leads the Lady Statesmen in rebounding, averaging 6.7 per game and blocked shots with 20 on the season. Toney is in the top ten in the Gulf South Conference in each category. Dakiya is currently averaging 9.7 points per game shooting 45.9 percent from the field in 25.4 minutes per game. Toney has posted six double-doubles on the season. Toney was one of three Lady Statesmen in double figures in last night's GSC quarterfinal win against Valdosta State, where she had 12 points and pulled down six rebounds and blocked one shot and recorded two steals.
• Sophomore guard Jariyah Williamson has earned GSC Newcomer of the Year after her outstanding season where she led the Lady Statesmen in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game in the 2025-26 regular season. The Henderson Tenn., native averaged 15.6 points per game in the month of February, scoring 20-plus points in three of the eight games played for Delta State including a 21-point performance in Friday night's win against Mississippi College. Last night against Valdosta State, Williamson posted her second double-double of the season scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
• Senior guard Kennedee Shelton was a huge impact for the Lady Statesmen in their semifinal win against Valdosta State. The Shreveport, La., native led all Lady Statesmen scorers with 15 points on 6-9 shooting from the field.

Scouting the Lady Bulldogs

• The Lady Bulldogs enter the conference semifinals as the defending GSC champions after defeating the seven seeded West Florida Argonauts 69-61 Monday evening in Jackson.
• Union was led by Olivia Lee with 18 points and seven rebounds. Kaitlyn Yoder scored 12 points, while Courtney Zensen added 10, including three 3-pointers. The Lady Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the fourth quarter. Union finished 6-of-23 from long range (26%) and 15-of-20 (75%) from the free throw line. 
• The Lady Bulldogs have two All-Conference members in Olivia Lee and Courtney Zensen. Zensen had an impressive season leading the conference in three-point percentage (.403) and three points per game (2.9).