Lady Senators defense too strong in 78-52 win over Spartanburg Methodist

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 17 Walters State held Spartanburg Methodist without a field goal in the opening quarter of Saturday afternoon's game and were off from there for a 78-52 win.

With the victory, Walters State improved to 1-1 on the season. 

"I thought we did a really good job in the opening quarter on both sides of the ball," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "We also did a good job on the offensive glass with 17 offensive rebounds. We're just trying to continue to get better, and we took a step in the right direction today."

Leading the way for Walters State was Kristyna Boyd with a double-double. Boyd had 18 points and 16 rebounds. 

Along with Boyd, Asia Barr led the team with 20 points while also having five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Other contributors for the Lady Senators were Kyra Perkins with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks, Briontanay Marshall with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, Tianna Rhodes with 10 points, five steals, five assists and four rebounds, Emmanuella Amaefula with four points and three rebounds and Lia Wright with four points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Senators had 49 rebounds in the game to Spartanburg's 33. Walters State assisted on 20 of 27 made baskets and were 20-26 from the free throw line. The Lady Senators forced 19 turnovers. 

It was a strong start from the get go as Walters State jumped out to a 22-5 lead after one quarter. All of Spartanburg's points came from free throws as they were 0-13 from the field. 

Perkins had nine points on 4-5 shooting and four rebounds in the opening 10 minutes, while Barr added five points and three rebounds. 

In the second quarter, Spartanburg tried to play back in it as they cut the lead to 28-20 with two minutes left in the half. However, Boyd made a jumper, Amaefula made two free throws, Barr converted an and-one and Rhodes converted an and-one at the buzzer to make it 38-20 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Lady Senators continued to push and held a 57-42 lead going to the fourth. Boyd had seven points and seven rebounds in the third, while Marshall had five points and three rebounds. 

The fourth quarter was more of the same as Walters State outscored Spartanburg 21-10 to go on for the win. Barr had seven points in the final quarter, while Boyd had six and four rebounds. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action at home next Saturday as they take on Dyersburg State to open up conference play. Tip is set for 2 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics