MORRISTOWN, TN – Two days after facing a top-15 team in the country, No. 22 Walters State took on a top-10 team on Saturday afternoon in No. 6 Shelton State, falling 65-44 in their finale of the Senators Tip Off Classic. 

With the loss, Walters State falls to 0-2 on the season.

"That's why we play these teams," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "I could easily go and play lesser teams, but you play these teams to try and get better. We didn't do a good job of finding people and defending and Shelton State did. We have to work on running our offense better and doing things you have to do to beat teams like that. We'll just continue to get better." 

For the second straight game, Kiera Hill led the Lady Senators with 19 points and eight rebounds. 

Hill scored eight points in the first quarter on Saturday and did a good job of getting to the charity stripe for the second straight game. 

"Kiera just plays so hard," Coleman said. "I need to get other players to play as hard as she does. That's our biggest thing. Kiera lays it on the line in practice and in games. I just need to get people to rally behind her." 

Along with Hill, Matty Tanner came off the bench and added 11 points. Tanner was a perfect 3-3 from the 3-point line. 

As a team, the Lady Senators shot 32.7% from the field and 37.5% from the 3-point line. Shelton State shot 48.9% from the field. 

The Lady Senators held tough for the first quarter against Shelton State as Hill scored four to make it 6-4 early. Shelton State would eventually pull ahead by six before Hill hit a shot before the end of the quarter to make it 16-14 after one. 

The second quarter was the difference in the game as the Lady Senators were out-scored 21-11. Tanner hit two 3-pointers in the quarter to try and pull Walters State close, but they trailed 37-25 at the half.

In the third quarter, it was more of the same as Shelton State built an 18-point lead over the Lady Senators. Four players for Walters State scored in the quarter.

19 total points were scored in the fourth quarter between the two teams as Shelton State iced the game. 

For the Lady Senators, while it's not the start they wanted, they can look at past years and see that the Senators Tip Off Classic has been a time to improve early in the season. 

"We've had the number one team in the country down here before, and we want to play tough competition in this," Coleman said. "This gets us ready for conference play. The biggest thing is that it's a marathon, not a sprint. That's what I am trying to get them to understand. They just have to be able to get better and learn in order to improve." 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday when they open up conference play taking on Chattanooga State. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. 

"We just need to work on fundamentals in practice," Coleman said. "That's our main focus leading up to Chatt State." 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics