No. 7 Walters State defeats Southwest Tennessee, 77-37, for eighth straight win

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 7 Walters State held Southwest Tennessee to 12 first half points on Monday evening and went on for a 77-37 win.

With the victory, the Lady Senators improved to 18-2 overall and 14-0 in TCCAA play. Walters State has won eight straight. 

Leading the way for Walters State in the game was Nyjah Gibbs with 17 points, while Terryauna Griffin added 15 and Tahara Diallo finished with a season-high 11 points. Other scorers for the Lady Senators were Raegan Starks with seven points, Anaya Mulholland-Natt with seven points, Paradise Fisher with six points, Malia Wilcox with six points, Malon Smith with six points and Mariana Calero Zuniga with two points. 

Walters State built a 7-4 lead early thanks to four straight points from Gibbs, and Griffin made it 11-4 with four straight. Southwest broke the run with a basket, but Gibbs hit a free throw, Starks scored and Mulholland-Natt poured in a 3-pointer to make it 17-6. Griffin hit one more free throw in the quarter, and Walters State led 18-9 after one. 

In the second, the Lady Senators scored the first 12 points of the quarter. Mulholland-Natt started the run with a basket, and Wilcox and Griffin followed with back-to-back 3-pointers. Griffin scored the final four points of the run to make it 30-9. Southwest finally broke the run and scored three points to make it 32-12, but Walters State scored the final seven points of the quarter and led 39-12 at the break. Wilcox hit another three during that final run, while Smith and Starks also scored.

The two teams traded buckets in the first few minutes of the third quarter, but at 45-18, Walters State took back over with 12 straight. Gibbs scored the first four points, and Smith followed with an and-one. After Diallo hit a three, Smith and Griffin each made a free throw to make it 57-18. Diallo hit one more 3-pointer in the quarter, and Fisher threw in a three at the buzzer that made it 65-23 heading to the fourth. 

The fourth quarter was more of the same for Walters State, as Diallo hit her third 3-pointer of the game to open things up. Diallo had five points in the final 10 minutes, while Starks and Gibbs each made baskets to help close out the 77-37 win.

Up Next:

Walters State is on the road on Wednesday, taking on Chattanooga State. Tip is set for 5:30 pm ET.