Walters State takes hold of first place with win over Chattanooga State

Thanks to Blayre Shultz, Walters State's Lady Senators are now in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.

The Lady Senators entered Saturday's game at Z Buda Gymnasium tied with visiting Chattanooga State and Shultz scored 14 of the No. 25 Lady Senators' 15 points in the final quarter as they held off a frantic comeback by the Lady Tigers and captured a 68-59 victory.

It was the eighth league win against two losses for coach Jasmin Coleman's club while Chattanooga State slipped to 7-3 with all the losses coming to Walters which is now 9-2 overall. The Lady Tigers are 9-5 overall.

The Lady Senators grabbed a 34-23 lead at the half behind 10 points from Quentarra Mitchell and nine by Jaida Wiggins. They quickly upped the count to 53-36 after three quarters and a three by Shultz made it a 20-point game just over a minute into the final frame.

However, the Lady Tigers reeled off eight straight points before Shultz made a pair of charity tosses. The visitors then fired in nine in a row, pulling within 61-55 on a layup by Gla'Mia Letcher with 2:10 left.

Neither team scored again until Shultz gunned in another triple as she was knocked down on the play. She cashed in the free throw to restore the lead to 10 with 1:36 to play.

In the final minute, Haley Comer hit a free throw and Shultz sank two more before Letcher was allowed an uncontested basket at the finish.

Shultz finished with 25 to lead the winners after scoring just five before intermission. Wiggins added 13 and Mitchell 12. Comer chipped in nine and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Coleman said, "It got a little hectic toward the end but right now a win is a win. That's all that's important is that we won the game."

The coach talked about Shultz. "Blayre's gonna do whatever you have to have her to do. She wasn't shooting really well in the first half, but she played good defense and then in the second half she started hitting. We needed her to score in the fourth quarter and that's what she did.

"This is a very important win for us, and I want to talk about the good things. Blayre had a great fourth quarter and both Jaida and Quentarra scored in double figures."

Coleman said, "Another really important thing was Haley's rebounding. I told her that she had to be aggressive, and she did a really good job of crashing the boards. Q (Mitchell) didn't score much in the second half, but she stepped up and got some key rebounds."

Neither team shot exceptionally well as Walters State made 25-of-58 for 43.1 percent. Shultz hit 4-of-5 3-point attempts in the second half and made all five for the winners who attempted 17. Chattanooga State connected on 24 of 56 for 42.9 percent and was 5-of-15 behind the arc.

With Comer leading the way and Mitchell grabbing eight, the home team had a 33-27 rebounding edge. Wiggins had six assists and Comer five.

There were three ties and six lead changes in the first quarter. The final knot was at 10-10 before Mitchell, who had eight in the period, put Walters State ahead for good at 12-10. Melisa Carter, who led the losers with 19 points, scored consecutive baskets to cut the margin to 16-14.

But Comer scored on a follow-up and then added a pair of free tosses with 00.2 on the clock for a 20-14 lead after one.

In the second frame, the lead grew to 28-20 before Carter made a bucket and Shaquala Walton, who added 14 for the Lady Tigers added a free throw to make it a five-point game.

However, Shultz hit a three-pointer and Wiggins added a conventional there-point play to make it 34-23 at the half. Midway of the third, Shultz scored five straight points and Wiggins added four before the quarter ended at 53-36.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics