Lady Senators season ends in first round of NJCAA Tournament

LUBBOCK, TX – Despite a valiant effort, Walters State could not overcome a tough shooting performance Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament, falling to Tyler 72-60. 

With the loss, Walters State ends the season with a 13-4 record. The Lady Senators were the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament Champions and had the conference's Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.  

It was the programs 17^th appearance in the NJCAA Tournament.  

Walters State was led in Tuesday's contest by Quentarra Mitchell. Mitchell had 17 points and 12 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Along with Mitchell, Blayre Shultz had 12 points while Vertonia Bady added 10. Jaida Wiggins and Kiera Hill had seven points each as well.  

As a team, Walters State shot just 28.1% from the field and were 2-14 from the 3-point line. The Lady Senators were excellent at the charity stripe, going 22-27 from the free-throw line.  

For Tyler, they had four players in double figures and shot 40% from the field. 

After Tyler got the scoring going, Walters State immediately answered back as Wiggins drilled a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer. The Lady Senators would take the lead on two free throws from Mitchell. From there, the two teams went back-and-forth and had the game tied at 11 before Tyler ended the quarter on an 8-3 run and led 19-14 after one. 

In the second, Tyler got off a quick start and built their lead to double digits before Wiggins hit two free throws. However, Tyler continued their charge and led 35-18, forcing a Lady Senators timeout. The Lady Senators calmed the storm a bit as Bady and Hill made some free throws. Then Shultz and Mitchell each hit free throws and the lead was down to 12 at the half. 

In the third quarter, after Tyler started quick again, Walters State slowly started chipping into the lead and had it down to eight after free throws from Bady. It was a 10-point game after three. In the fourth, while Walters State got the lead to seven 30 seconds in on a Mitchell 3-pointer, they could not overcome Tyler as they fell by 12 points.  

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics