Lady Senators advance to TCCAA/Region 7 Championship

GALLATIN, TN – Top-seeded Walters State put together a balanced attack on Monday in the TCCAA/Region Semifinals, and the Lady Senators advanced to the Championship with a 73-46 win over fourth-seeded Motlow State.

With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 26-2 overall and moved on to Tuesday's Championship at 5 pm ET. 

Nyjah Gibbs led the way for Walters State, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds. It was her second straight double-double. Along with Gibbs, Malon Smith was everywhere, as she had 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Anaya Mulholland-Natt had 11 points, as well, and Terryauna Griffin finished with 16 points. 

Other contributors for the Lady Senators were Tierra Coleman with eight points and five rebounds, Malia Wilcox with seven points and four steals and Raegan Starks with three points and eight rebounds. 

As a team, Walters State collected 45 rebounds to Motlow State's 27. The Lady Senators forced 24 turnovers and scored 26 points off of them. Walters State held Motlow State to 28% from the field and 26% from 3-point range. The Lady Senators held TCCAA Freshman of the Year, Sable Winfree, to 1-10 from the field and to six points. 

Motlow led 4-2 early in the game, but Smith scored, Griffin hit a free throw and Mulholland-Natt buried a triple to give the Lady Senators an 8-4 advantage. The lead grew to 12-7 after a Griffin basket, and it was 16-8 after Wilcox scored and Gibbs scored. Gibbs and Coleman scored to end the quarter, and Walters State led 20-13 after one. 

The Lady Senators defense set the tone in the second quarter, holding Motlow State to just eight points. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Griffin had six early points to give Walters State a 28-15 lead, and the lead got to 30-18 when Gibbs scored. Smith and Wilcox hit back-to-back 3-pointers to close the half, and Walters State led 36-21 at the break. 

In the third, Motlow scored first, but Walters State answered with 11 straight. During the run, Griffin scored, Gibbs hit two free throws, Starks converted an and-one and Coleman scored four straight to make it a 47-23 game. Coleman scored again in the quarter, while Smith made a basket to get the lead out to 51-28. Gibbs hit a free throw late in the quarter, and it was 56-34 after three.

The fourth quarter was more of the same, as Walters State slammed the door with an 11-0 run midway through the quarter. Smith and Mulholland-Natt hit 3-pointers to start the three-minute stretch, and Gibbs followed with a basket. Mulholland-Natt closed out the run, hitting her third 3-pointer of the game to make it 69-40. The Lady Senators closed strong and picked up the 73-46 win.