Lady Senators fall just short in TCCAA/Region VII Championship, 54-52

TULLAHOMA, TN – Walters State led by 11 at halftime in the TCCAA/Region VII Championship on Tuesday evening against No. 25 Chattanooga State but could not finish things off, falling 54-52.

With the loss, Walters State closed the season at 19-9 overall. 

Kristyna Boyd led the way for Walters State with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Other contributors for the Lady Senators were Kyra Perkins with 14 points and seven rebounds, Juilenne Ongbagnamen with seven points and five rebounds, Asia Barr with six points and three rebounds, Briontanay Marshall with four points and seven rebounds, Tianna Rhodes with four points and Janae Charles with four rebounds and two steals.

The Lady Senators shot 30% from the field and had 34 rebounds. The Lady Senators held Chattanooga State to 1-11 from 3-point range and forced 18 turnovers. 

It was a great start to the game for Walters State, as Boyd scored just 19 seconds in. The two teams would tie at two, four, six, eight and nine from there. Chattanooga State led 12-11 with a minute to go in the quarter, but Marshall scored with six seconds left to give Walters State a 13-12 lead after one. 

In the second, Boyd scored for Walters State to up the lead to three. Chattanooga scored on their next possession, but Barr hit a three to make it 18-14. The Lady Tigers answered again with a basket but Ongbagnamen scored for Walters State. 

The Walters State lead was 20-18 with five minutes to go in the half, before Barr hit a three to up the lead to five. The Lady Senators got back-to-back stops on the defensive end after, and Perkins hit a triple to make it 26-18 with 3:43 left in the half. The Lady Tigers made a shot, but Perkins hit another trey to get the lead to 29-20. 

That was the score until the final seconds, when Rhodes hit a shot at the buzzer to give Walters State a 31-20 lead at the half. 

However, Walters State struggled in the third quarter. The Lady Senators managed just eight points in the quarter but led 39-36 going to the fourth on an Ongbagnamen 3-pointer. 

In the fourth quarter, the two teams flip flopped the lead for the first seven minutes of the final quarter. It was 49-49 with two minutes to go, but the Lady Tigers made a shot to take the lead for good with 1:26 left. Down five with seconds left, Perkins hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two with one second left but the Lady Tigers ran the clock out to win the game. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics