MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Walters State's women's basketball team was looking to bounce back in the Senators Tip-Off Classic on Saturday after losing their opening game on Friday evening.
It would be no easy task for the Lady Senators who took on No. 7 Shelton State. After falling behind by 22 points at the half, Walters State fought back, scoring 26 points in the third quarter, but the deficit was too great as the Lady Senators fell 77-52 Saturday at 'Z' Buda Gymnasium.
"Shelton State has a really good ball club, and the first half our kids were just mesmerized," coach Dave Kragel said. "We did some much better things in that second half."
Walters State (0-2) got off to a quick start with Alexis Trice hitting two three-pointers in the first three minutes of the first quarter to go up 8-5. However, after Trice's last three, points came at a premium.
The Lady Senators scored just eight more points the rest of the half as Shelton State picked up the defensive pressure. Walters State went almost 10 minutes at one point without scoring a basket.
Trice had eight of the teams 16 points in the half.
"We knew they were going to pressure us," Kragel said. "We knew it was coming. We just couldn't do much offensively in the first half. We just have to keep learning."
Trailing 40-16 to start the third quarter, Walters State seemed to finally figure out the Shelton State defense.
Freshman guard Blayre Shultz took the game over, hitting four three-pointers in the quarter. Shultz three-point shooting allowed a 22-point deficit to trickle all the way down to 50-42 as Walters State went on a 13-4 run.
WSCC outscored the Lady Bucs 26-15 in the quarter. Jamya Rogers added five points in the run as well.
"We got tougher (in the second half) and didn't let them do everything they wanted to do," Kragel said. "We made some shots, and we rebounded the ball and got some points off of those. We just have to get better and learn how to play hard."
Rogers continued her run in the fourth quarter, hitting the first four points of the fperiod for the Lady Senators. However, Shelton State's defense came alive as they contained Shultz and Trice from the three-point line and built their lead.
Shultz led the Lady Senators with 15 points in the game while Rogers added 13 points. Haley Comer had nine rebounds and Jalayah Manning contributed five assists.
The Lady Senators will be back in action on Tuesday as they take on Spartanburg Methodist. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m as Walters State looks for its first win of the season.
"I hope it is a real good learning experience for us because we played two really good teams," Kragel said. "We just have a lot to learn. But we will keep working at it and get better."