Strong third quarter pushes 8th-ranked Lady Senators to 74-59 win over Cleveland State

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 8 Walters State scored 26 points in the third quarter on Wednesday and held Cleveland State to just 10 points, as the Lady Senators overcame a halftime deficit to win, 74-59.

With the victory, Walters State improved to 16-2 overall and 12-0 in TCCAA play. 

Terryauna Griffin led the way for the Lady Senators in the game with 22 points, while Nyjah Gibbs added 15 points. Other scorers were Raegan Starks with 12 points, Tierra Coleman with nine points, Malon Smith with seven points, Anaya Mulholland-Natt with five points and Malia Wilcox with four points. 

It was a back-and-forth start to the game, as there were 11 lead changes in the opening 10 minutes. Walters State grabbed a 9-8 lead following a Mulholland-Natt basket, and had a 15-14 advantage following a basket from Raegan Starks. Wilcox hit a triple to put Walters State in front, 18-17, late in the quarter, but Cleveland State scored again to make it 19-18 after one. 

In the second, Griffin started strong with five quick points to put the Lady Senators back in front. Griffin scored again with 7:34 left in the half to make it 25-20, but Cleveland rallied off five straight to tie things back up. The two teams were tied again at 27 after trading buckets, but Walters State went up four following a layup by Gibbs and two free throws by Starks. Coleman scored later in the quarter to break a 31-31 tie, but Cleveland State scored the final six points of the half to lead, 37-33. 

It appeared Cleveland State would continue to charge to start the third quarter, scoring the first basket. However, Gibbs converted an and-one and Smith scored to cut it to 39-38. Cleveland scored after, but Walters State quickly took over from there. Starks started things with a basket, and Griffin scored four in a row to give the Lady Senators a 44-41 advantage. The lead was 48-41 after baskets from Smith and Coleman, and it was 55-42 after Griffin hit a three and Coleman and Gibbs scored. The lead stayed around there for the remainder of the quarter, and Walters State led 59-47 going to the fourth. 

In the fourth, Smith scored to open things up, and Griffin hit a 3-pointer two minutes later to get the lead to 66-49. From there, Gibbs scored six points and Starks hit two free throws as the Lady Senators picked up the 72-54 win.

Up Next:

Walters State is back in action on Saturday, traveling to Volunteer State. Tip is set for 3 pm ET.