CASPER, WY – 16th-seeded Walters State was outscored by 14 points in the third quarter against 17th-seeded Kilgore College on Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the NJCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, and the Lady Senators fell 75-59.
With the loss, the Lady Senators closed the season at 25-6 overall. Walters State were TCCAA Regular Season Champions and TCCAA/Region 7 Champions.
Three Lady Senators scored 13 points to lead the way. Alexis Hood, Kyra Perkins and Raegan Starks all reached the mark, while Perkins and Hood each had four rebounds. Along with those three, Ellie Linx had eight points while Terryauna Griffin had six and five rebounds. Nyjah Gibbs added four points and seven rebounds, and Morgan Williams had two points and five rebounds.
As a team, the Lady Senators shot 20-64 from the field and made 16 free throws. The Lady Senators forced 13 turnovers and scored 11 points off them. Walters State totaled 35 rebounds and had 13 second-chance points.
It was a slow start for both teams, with the game tied 2-2 for five minutes. The Lady Senators finally broke the drought with 2:33 left as Gibbs hit two free throws. Kilgore scored six of the next seven points, but Perkins scored four in the final 90 seconds and it was 12-9 Kilgore after the opening quarter.
In the second, Kilgore got their lead to five at 18-13 but the Lady Senators got a three from Linx and two free throws by Griffin to tie the game. The Lady Senators took the lead at 20-19 on two free throws by Hood, but Kilgore scored the next four to go up three. The lead would stay there for the next few minutes, but Perkins tied the game at 26 and 28 with baskets. Hood tied the game at 30 with 50 seconds to go in the half, but Kilgore scored one final time and led 32-30.
The third quarter was the difference for Kilgore. Walters State tied the game a minute in on a layup by Griffin, but Kilgore extended their lead to 42-34 midway through. The lead grew to 52-40, and it was 57-41 at the end of the quarter. Starks scored five points in the quarter to lead the way for Walters State.
In the fourth, the Lady Senators made one final charge. Griffin hit a free throw to open up the quarter, and Hood followed with two more free throws. Linx then hit a 3-pointer, and the lead was down to 57-47. However, Kilgore hit back-to-back 3-pointers to regain control. From there, Walters State tried to get back into the game as Hood scored four but Kilgore would not relinquish the double-digit lead and took the win.