Lady Bucs fall to 11th Ranked Chipola

Americus, GA- The 9^th ranked Shelton State Women's Basketball team fell to the 11^th ranked Chipola Indians, 57-53, on the first day of the South Georgia Tech Holiday Classic.

The Lady Bucs were led by Julie Nekolna who poured in 15 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Sophomore Makala Hobdy nearly notched a triple-double as she scored 10 points to go along with 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Lameria Thomas posted her 2^nd double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Janiyah Bone knocked down two 3's, finishing with 9 points.

The 1^st quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Lady Indians gain a 3-point advantage behind a pair of threes from Kanija Daniel, who would finish with a game high 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Indians picked up where they left off the in the 2^nd quarter as they added to their lead, taking a 29-23 lead into the break. "We once again struggled from the free throw line and we cannot expect to win big games until we improve from the stripe," said head coach Madonna Thompson. The Lady Bucs were 11-20 from the free throw line for the game, including 6-14 in the first half.

The 3^rd quarter saw the Lady Bucs storm back and take the lead with under 3 minutes to go, but the Lady Indians drew back even as the game was tied at 42 heading into the final period. The 4^th quarter was a battle as both teams traded baskets down the stretch with the game being tied at 53 with just 20 seconds left. Kanija Daniel broke the tie with an and-one jump shot that would put the Lady Indians ahead 55-53 with 8 seconds left on the clock. Daniel would miss the free throw but Aniyah Ruddock, who finished the game with 15 points, grabbed the miss and got the ball back to Daniel who made her next two attempts to ice the game. "That's an extremely talented basketball team that is well coached," said coach Thompson. "We have a quick turnaround tomorrow against another extremely well coached and disciplined team and I hope we can correct some of the mistakes we made today and have a different outcome tomorrow.

The Lady Bucs return to action tomorrow as they face #23 Eastern Florida on the campus of South Georgia Technical College in Americus, Georgia.