MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — The 12th-ranked Walters State Lady Senators were never threatened but also didn't put away the visiting Jackson State Lady Green Jays until late in the game in a 68-52 victory in Tennessee Community College Athletic Association action inside 'Z' Buda Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
Walters State scored the game's first 14 points and never saw the lead dip below eight the rest of the game, as the home team coasted to another win in league action to remain unbeaten against Region VII competition.
With the win, the Lady Senators have won 150 of their last 151 games in TCCAA play, as they are now 9-2 overall and 4-0 in league action.
The loss was the second on the road trip for the Lady Green Jays, as they fell to 6-4 on the year and 2-4 in league play.
The Lady Senators put all the distance they needed between themselves and the visitors in the first period, scoring the game's first 14 points and not allowing Jackson State to score until 2:25 left in the opening frame.
Walters State got 4 points from Jamya Rogers, 3-ppinters form Zacharyia Esmon and Derrinesha Jackson and buckets inside from Brianna Dixon and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu to take a 14-0 lead, and the first bucket from the Lady Jays came on a layup by Johnna Jones. The Lady Senators held an 18-3 lead after one.
Jackson State came to life in the second period, as seven players scored in the frame, cutting the lead as low as 24-16 before Mendjiadeu took over. The sophomore scored 10 points in the second period, including 8 in the final three minutes as WSCC took a 35-23 lead into halftime.
Esmon and Mendjiadeu scored early in the third, with Mendjiadeu recording a 3-point play, and the lead swelled to 17 less than two minutes in the period. WSCC eventually led by as much as 18 in the quarter, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Sarah Grace Scott trimmed the margin to 51-38 entering the fourth.
The Lady Senators opened the final period on a 7-0 run, extending the lead to 58-38, before the Lady Jays scored on back-to-back possessions with six minutes left in the game to end the streak but never got closer than 14.
Walters State shot 49.1 percent (27 of 55) in the win, making 2 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc and 12 of 17 at the free throw line while holding a commanding 48-20 advantage on the glass.
Mendjiadeu led all scorers with 23 points while adding 7 rebounds, wheel Jamya Rogers had 11 points in the win. Jalayah Manning pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.
The Lady Jays finished up shooting 30.6 percent (19 of 62) from the field, including 8 of 29 from long distance while making just 6 of 16 free tosses. Semajia Ogburn led Jackson State with 13 points, while Jones added 11 in the loss.
The Lady Senators will be back in action Wednesday when they host Catawba Valley for a 5:30 p.m. tip inside 'Z Buda Gymnasium.