Nekolna's 32 Point Explosion Leads Lady Bucs Past Chattanooga State

Americus, GA- The Shelton State Women's Basketball team ended 2024 with a 62-46 win over the Chattanooga State Lady Tigers. The 9^th ranked Lady Bucs head into 2025 with an 11-3 record.

Sophomore Julie Nekolna led the way as she posted a career-high 32 points on a remarkable 74% (14-19) from the field. Nekolna also pulled down 9 rebounds to lead the team. Freshman Janiyah Bone poured in 11 points behind 3 trey balls and Makala Hobdy scored 6 while adding 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The Lady Bucs once again were plagued by a slow start as they only scored 13 points in the 1^st quarter but held the Lady Tigers to just 6. The 2^nd quarter is when Juile Nekolna began to make her mark on the contest. Nekolna scored 8 of the Lady Bucs 15 points in the quarter, but the Lady Tigers found success as they were led by Alicia Polk who scored 7 of her 9 points in the quarter. "Chattanooga State did a great job of mixing up their defenses, but thankfully Julie was able to find ways to score no matter what they threw at us," said head coach Madonna Thompson. "We have to find more consistency from the perimeter as a team." The Lady Bucs shot just 15% from beyond the arc compared to an eye popping 47% yesterday.

The 3^rd quarter belonged to Nekolna as she scored 16 of the 22 Lady Buc points, including 8 of the first 10. The Lady Tigers were held to just 9 in the quarter as the Lady Bucs extended their lead to 19. The 4^th quarter looked a lot like the 1^st as the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Bucs 13-12. Janiyah Bone hit two 3's in the final frame. "This team has grown tremendously over the first 2 months of the season," said head coach Madonna Thompson. "Being able to capture 4 ranked victories is a great accomplishment and we look to build on that as we head into the 2^nd half of our season."

The Lady Bucs return to action on January 6^th as they travel to Ellisville, MS to take on the Jones College Bobcats, beginning at 5:30.