No. 13 Lady Senators fall at No. 12 Shelton State, 73-57

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The 13th-ranked Walters State Lady Senators dropped their second straight game Saturday evening, falling 73-57 at 12th-ranked Shelton State in the final day of the Shelton State New Year's Classic on the Lady Bucs' home floor.

Less than 24 hours after suffering a 69-64 loss against Wallace State, the Lady Senators were outscored in each quarter and watched a close game slip away in the second half after the home team outscored WSCC by 10 in the final 20 minutes.

With the win, the Lady Bucs improved to 14-3 on the season, while the defeat dropped the Lady Senators to 11-4 on the year.

Shelton State held a slim 12-10 lead after one period before extending the lead to 32-26 by halftime. The Lady Bucs held a 17-10 scoring edge in the third, increasing the margin to 49-36 entering the final 10 minutes, where the home team held a 24-21 edge on the scoreboard to provide the 16-point final margin.

Ataiya Bridges led Shelton State with 21 points in the win, while Tiyah Johnson added 11, Kyleigh Hardy had 9, LaTora Duff chipped in 8 and Queen Ford had 6 in the victory.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu led all scorers with 24 points, while Brianna Dixon joined her in double figures for Walters State with 11. Jalayah Manning added 7 points, while Jamya Rogers (5), Alexis Trice (4), Diamond Forrest (4) and Caleah Shannon (2) closed the scoring for the Lady Senators.

Walters State will return to action Tuesday with another road game, this time traveling to Hickory, North Carolina, to take on Catawba Valley for a 2 p.m. showdown. The Lady Senators defeated the Red Hawks 65-40 on Jan. 2.