Lady Senators drop close road contest to Chattanooga State

CHATTANOOGA, TN – Walters State led by seven in the third quarter on Wednesday evening against Chattanooga State but were unable to close things out, falling 60-56. 

With the loss, Walters State fell to 15-7 overall and 12-3 in TCCAA play. 

"We did a good job building that lead but just weren't able to finish things off in the fourth quarter," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "We've got to do a better job of knocking in our free throws and making the correct decisions. We'll get back to it in practice and get ready to go again on Saturday."

Kristyna Boyd led the way for Walters State with 19 points, while Kyra Perkins added 14 points. Other scorers for Walters State were Asia Barr with 13, Juilenne Ongbagnamen with eight points and Briontanay Marshall with two points. 

The Lady Senators got off to a slow start in the game, as Chattanooga State opened up a 10-2 lead early. Perkins broke the run with a three, but Chattanooga State got the lead to 23-7 and were poised to make the game a blowout.

However, the Lady Senators fought back into it. Ongbagnamen and Boyd scored back-to-back buckets and, after the Lady Tigers scored, Ongbagnamen and Barr scored to make it 27-16 after one.

In the second, the Lady Senators continued to battle. Perkins started things with a basket and then Boyd scored to make it 27-20. The Lady Tigers briefly built their lead back to 12, but Perkins and Boyd scored to make it an eight-point game. After a Chatt State bucket, Perkins scored again and was fouled, making the free throw to cut the lead to 36-29 with 1:32 left in the half. 

Chattanooga State would score one more time in the half, but Ongbagnamen scored and Perkins scored off a steal to make it 38-33 in the half.

Using their momentum, Walters State attacked out of the half. After trading buckets to start, the Lady Senators went on a 12-0 run to take a seven-point lead. Boyd started the run with four straight. Perkins scored after, and Barr hit back-to-back triples to make it 47-40. 

However, Chattanooga State bounced back in the final two minutes of the quarter and cut the lead to 48-45 going to the fourth.

In the fourth, Walters State held the lead for the first four minutes, but Chattanooga State tied the game at 51 before taking the lead at 55-53. Following two missed free throws from the Lady Senators, the lead grew to 57-53 on a made basket with three minutes to go. 

Walters State cut the lead to two on two free throws by Perkins, but Chattanooga State scored again to make it 59-55. Walters State got one more free throw by Barr and had two possessions to tie the game but could not capitalize.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday, hosting Volunteer State. Tip is set for 2 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics