6th-ranked Lady Senators claim 15th TCCAA Regular Season Championship in program history 

MORRISTOWN, TN – For the 15th time since 2010, the Walters State women's basketball team are TCCAA Regular Season Champions. 

On Saturday, the 6th-ranked Lady Senators battled close with Columbia State before pulling away in the second half for an 80-58 victory.

With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 22-2 on the season and 18-0 in TCCAA play. It's Walters State's second straight regular season title.

It was also Sophomore Day on Saturday for Walters State. After the game, the Lady Senators honored Tierra Coleman, Raegan Starks, Nyjah Gibbs, Terryauna Griffin and Anaya Mulholland-Natt. That group has gone 47-8 over two years at Walters State, have won two regular season TCCAA Championships, a TCCAA/Region 7 Tournament Championship and made the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Tournament. 

Starks was the leading scorer for Walters State on Saturday, finishing with 24 points. Griffin added 17 points and Gibbs and Malon Smith each had 12 points. Other scorers were Malia Wilcox with six, Tahara Diallo with five, Tierra Coleman with three and Mulholland-Natt with one. 

Griffin and Gibbs scored to start the game for Walters State, but Columbia answered with four points. The two teams traded the lead over the next three minutes, before Walters State went up 12-9 after a Starks basket and Smith basket. Columbia came right back with four points, but Coleman hit a free throw and Wilcox scored for the Lady Senators to go back up 15-13. 

Columbia would take one final lead with a 3-pointer, but Diallo hit a corner three to give Walters State an 18-17 advantage after one. 

In the second, Columbia scored the first four points to go up three. The Lady Senators answered with two Gibbs free throws and a Starks layup, but Columbia scored four more to go back up three at 25-22. The Chargers then went up 29-23 midway through the second, but Walters State shot ahead 33-29 with 10 straight points. Smith scored to start the run, and Griffin hit a free throw after. Starks then got a layup, and Griffin drilled a corner three. The final two points came on a Smith shot that got the lead to four.

Columbia broke the run with a basket, but Starks scored six in a row to get the Walters State advantage to 39-31. Smith scored one more basket for the Lady Senators in the quarter, and Walters State led 41-34 at the half. 

The third quarter started with another run by Walters State, this time a 9-0 run that got the lead to 50-34. That run consisted of a Starks basket, a Wilcox and-one, a Smith basket and a Griffin bucket. Columbia hung around and got the lead to 54-46, but Griffin converted an and-one. Starks hit two free throws in the final minute, and Griffin nailed a jumper with seconds to go that made it 61-47. 

In the fourth, Gibbs scored six points and Starks had five to close things out. Griffin added three points, and Diallo and Smith each had two points in the final 10 minutes.

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Walters State plays its final home game on Wednesday, hosting Motlow State for homecoming. Tip is set for 5:30 pm ET.