No. 8 Walters State forces 28 turnovers in 73-63 win over No. 9 State Fair in NJCAA DI Women’s Basketball Tournament

LAKE CHARLES, LA – Leading for the entirety of the second half, No. 8 Walters State saw its double-digit lead cut to one with five minutes to go on Friday against No. 9 State Fair in the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Tournament. 

However, defense is the Walters State women's basketball team's identity. And defense is what they turned to when things were going south.

Walters State forced a turnover on State Fair's next possession that led to an easy basket by Terryauna Griffin. The Lady Senators forced a bad shot on the next possession, and Griffin again raced back for an easy layup. From there, Walters State scored 15 of the last 21 points and went on for a 73-63 victory over the Roadrunners. 

With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 28-2 on the season and advanced to their sixth Elite Eight in program history and first since 2018. Walters State will face No. 16 New Mexico on Saturday at 10 am CT with a spot in the Final Four on the line. 

Griffin led the way in the game for Walters State, scoring 29 points, grabbing four rebounds and forcing four steals. Along with Griffin, Nyjah Gibbs finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while Malon Smith had eight points, eight assists and seven steals. 

Other contributors for Walters State were Raegan Starks with six points and nine rebounds, Tierra Coleman with five points and six rebounds, Anaya Mulholland-Natt with four points and five rebounds, Malia Wilcox with four points and four rebounds and Paradise Fisher with three points. 

As a team, Walters State forced 28 turnovers and scored 24 points off of them. The Lady Senators had 18 offensive rebounds and scored 30 points in the paint. 

State Fair led 6-3 three minutes into the game, but Griffin hit a three and Smith scored to give the Lady Senators an 8-6 lead. The advantage grew to 11-8 following three straight from Griffin, but the Roadrunners responded with six in a row to grab the lead back. Mulholland-Natt broke the run with two free throws, and Gibbs scored with two seconds left to cut it to 18-15 after one. 

In the second, State Fair quickly got the lead to 24-17, but the Lady Senators were not bothered. Griffin and Starks scored to cut the lead to three, and Griffin scored again to make it 24-23 with 6:20 left in the half. State Fair broke the mini run with two points, but Griffin hit two free throws, Fisher scored three in a row and Coleman made a free throw to give Walters State the lead back at 29-26. Starks scored to keep the pressure on, and Wilcox drilled a triple with 1:20 left in the half that made it 34-30 at the break. 

The third quarter could not have started any better for Walters State. Gibbs opened up the scoring with two free throws and then made a layup following a Smith steal. The Lady Senators got a stop on the defensive end, and Griffin hit a 3-pointer to make it 41-30 and force a Roadrunners timeout. The lead stretched to 12 following a Griffin free throw, and it was 13 at 48-35 when Smith and Mulholland-Natt made back-to-back buckets. 

State Fair got the lead down to single digits with three minutes left, but Gibbs made two free throws and Coleman had a big putback to push the advantage back out to 54-42. The Roadrunners scored the next four points, but Coleman scored with five seconds left to make it 56-46 heading to the fourth. 

In the fourth, State Fair scored the first eight points to cut the lead to two. Griffin hit two free throws to break the run, but the Roadrunners answered with a three that made it 58-57. However, Griffin scored following a steal by Coleman, and Griffin scored again on the next possession to make it 62-57 with 4:30 left. The run continued when Gibbs scored a minute later, and a Griffin layup pushed things to nine at 66-57.

Walters State continued to put the game out of reach, as Smith converted a 3-point play to make it 69-59. The Roadrunners couldn't get back into it in the final two minutes, and Walters State closed it down for the win.