MEMPHIS, TN – For the 20th time in program history, the Walters State women's basketball team is headed to the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Tournament.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Senators faced Chattanooga State in the TCCAA/Region 7 Championship. Last year when the two teams squared off in the finals, it was the Lady Tigers that got the best of the Lady Senators.
On Tuesday, Walters State would not let that happen two times in a row.
Walters State set the tone from the beginning, holding Chattanooga State to two points in the opening quarter, and went on for a 58-49 victory.
With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 25-5 overall and took home their 23rd TCCAA Title in program history and 20th Region 7 Championship.
"We give all honor to God," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "None of this would be possible this year without Him."
Leading the way for the Lady Senators was the lone returner from last year's runner-up team, Kyra Perkins. Perkins finished the game with a double-double, totaling 17 points and 12 rebounds. Perkins was named the Tournament MVP after scoring 52 points and collecting 27 rebounds over the three tournament games.
"This feels great," Perkins said. "I knew I had to step up big for my team. We've talked about rebounds winning games, and I knew that's what I had to go out there and do. I've just tried to lead by example and show them how to be in the right spot and do things right."
Along with Perkins, Terryauna Griffin had 17 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks while Raegan Starks had 11 big points off the bench to go with five rebounds. Other contributors were Nyjah Gibbs with 10 points and six rebounds and Morgan Williams with three points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Anaya Mulholland-Natt also played 36 minutes for the Lady Senators to go with the 40 minutes she played in Monday's semifinals. Williams played 33 minutes on Tuesday as well, and 40 minutes on Monday.
As a team, the Lady Senators shot 44% from the field and grabbed 39 rebounds, 11 being offensive boards. Defensively, Walters State held Chattanooga State to 31% from the field and forced 14 turnovers. Walters State scored 12 points off those turnovers and had 28 bench points to Chattanooga State's eight.
Griffin set the tone from the jump for the Lady Senators, scoring the first seven points of the game for Walters State to give them a 7-2 lead. Williams and Perkins both scored to make it 11-2, and it was 13-2 at the end of the first after two more free throws. Walters State held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the final 7:22 of the quarter.
In the second, the offense picked up as Chattanooga got it to 17-8 before the Lady Senators rallied off six straight. Perkins scored four during that run and Gibbs scored the other two to give Walters State a 23-8 lead. The Lady Tigers scored seven straight to make it 23-15, but Perkins scored four straight with 35 seconds to go to up the lead to 27-15.
Chattanooga State would hit two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the half, but the Lady Senators still led 27-21.
In the third, Chattanooga State cut the lead to one with five minutes left but Griffin calmed things down with back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 35-28. The lead fell to three at 37-34, but Starks scored three straight in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 40-34 game heading to the final 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter started with a bang as Starks converted an and-one and then Gibbs scored to make it 45-34. Chattanooga State would make one final push, making it a 45-39 game, but Walters State scored the next seven points to take control. During the run, Griffin scored, Gibbs scored, Perkins scored and Starks hit a free throw that made it 52-39.
"They just trusted the process and trusted in what we work on every day in practice," Coleman said. "They understood that when you're in a championship, you have to execute."
Chattanooga State didn't get the lead to single digits until the final few seconds, and Walters State took home the title. In the final 10 minutes, Starks scored six while Perkins had five and Gibbs scored four.
Up Next:
Walters State will participate in the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Tournament March 25-April 1 in Casper, Wyoming. The selection show will be on Sunday, March 16 at 6 pm ET.