TUSCALOOSA, AL – Taking on a team averaging 76 points per game coming in, Walters State held No.11 Pearl River to 19 points below that on Saturday but were unable to score enough themselves, falling 57-45.
With the loss, the Lady Senators fell to 8-3 on the season.
Despite the loss, it was a strong effort from Walters State as the young Lady Senators squad took on a Pearl River team that boasts nine sophomores.
"We battled for three quarters against another nationally ranked team but have to have more discipline to not foul and turn the ball over," Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. "One positive thing is that we held the No.11 team in the country to one point in the second quarter.
"We have No. 7 ranked Shelton State tomorrow so we will have to rest up and get ready for that."
Leading the way for Walters State in the scoring column was Kyra Perkins with 12 points, while Terryauna Griffin added nine. Other scorers for the Lady Senators were Raegan Starks with eight points, Alexis Hood with seven points, Morgan Williams with five points, Nyjah Gibbs with three points and Anaya Mulholland-Natt with one point.
Pearl River scored the first five points of the game and led 17-10 seven minutes into the opening quarter. Walters State cut the lead to four with three free throws from Perkins, but Pearl River rallied off five more points to go up nine. Needing something to end the quarter, Griffin got a steal and layup with seconds left to make it 22-15 after one.
In the second quarter, the Lady Senators took the game over on the defensive end. Not even allowing the Wildcats to get off shots for much of the quarter, Walters State held Pearl River to just one free throw through the 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Walters State got eight points of their own, including four straight from Hood in the final three minutes, and tied the game at 23 at the break.
The third quarter saw Pearl River score six straight to open things up, but Walters State hit three free throws to cut the lead in half. The lead hovered around three for the rest of the quarter, with Hood scoring three more points and Perkins, Starks and Griffin all scoring as well, and it was 40-37 Pearl River going to the fourth.
Unfortunately, in the fourth, Pearl River scored the first nine points and never looked back as they took the 12-point win.
Up Next:
Walters State will close out the 2024 portion of their schedule on Sunday, taking on No.7 Shelton State at Shelton State. Tip is set for 4 pm ET.