Lady Senators fall in close contest to Georgia Highlands

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 14 Walters State fell behind late on Saturday afternoon against Georgia Highlands and their game-winning 3-pointer came up just short as the Chargers held on for 44-42 win. 

With the loss, Walters State fell to 1-1 on the season.

"We just have to be able to play hard two days in-a-row," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "I had four girls play a lot of minutes yesterday and that played a factor today. We just have to learn from it. We don't like to lose, but I'm glad we had it now. There will be a time down the road in a close game where we will look back on this and use it to our advantage." 

Tyasia Reed led the way for Walters State in the game with 14 points and five rebounds. Maiya Reed added eight points while Izarria Alexander had seven.

Other scorers for Walters State included Kailyn Farrell with six points, Rose Morrow with four, Asia Barr with two and Charlotte Carvalho with one. 

"Rose hasn't practiced a lot, but I just threw her out there and she played hard and that was a spark out there," Coleman said. "Tyasia Reed showed up from the beginning to the end. Maiya Reed played really hard too. I just hope we can learn from all this." 

Free throws played a big part in the game as Walters State was 15-22 from the charity stripe while Georgia Highlands was 12-14. The Lady Senators were also just 1-9 from the 3-point line. 

Georgia Highlands hit a 3-pointer to open up the game before Walters State answered and took the lead with four straight from Farrell. 

However, the Chargers answered and got up 11-6 before Maiya Reed completed a 3-point play. Late in the quarter, a Morrow jumper made it a one-point game at 13-12 before Tyasia Reed drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled, making the free throw to give Walters State a 16-13 lead after one. 

In the second quarter, Alexander hit a jumper to push the lead to five before the Chargers reeled off five straight to tie it back up. Georgia Highlands then took the lead 21-18 on a 3-pointer. That lead would hold until Tyasia Reed hit two free throws with a minute left in the half to tie the score at 23 at the break.

The two teams remained deadlocked in the third quarter as neither team could find any momentum. Three free throws from Tyasia Reed and Farrell put Walters State up three early before Georgia Highlands drilled a 3-pointer to take a 28-26 lead with seven minutes to go in the third.

Following that bucket, neither team would score again until Barr tied the game with a layup with 3:09 left in the quarter. Georgia Highlands retook the lead with four straight, but Walters State began to full-court press Georgia Highlands, leading to multiple turnovers. Maiya Reed scored four straight of her own and Alexander made a layup off the turnovers to give Walters State the lead. Georgia Highlands would hit two free throws late to tie the game going to the fourth quarter. 

"That was definitely a pick me up," Coleman said about the full-court pressure. "We did a good job with executing that and having those turnovers lead to points." 

Early in the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Lady Senators were going to pull away, going on a 5-0 run to go up 39-34. Georgia Highlands cut the lead to one with three minutes to go but Morrow answered with a layup. Two free throws made it a one-point game again and then, with 23 seconds left, two more free throws gave the Chargers the lead, 43-42.

Walters State got the ball and had a shot but a Morrow layup with eight seconds left was off. Georgia Highlands went to the line and made one free throw to push the lead to 44-42. The Lady Senators once again had a chance but a 3-pointer from Morrow was no good and the Chargers took the victory. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday as they host Tusculum JV. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. 

"We'll get to work on some different defenses and really try to refine that offense that we really haven't been working enough on," Coleman said. "We just have to get things done. We missed a lot of shots around the rim so we need to work on that, as well." 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics