GOLDEN SUNS REMAIN PERFECT ON SEASON, PICK UP HOME WIN OVER NO. 2 RANKED DELTA STATE IN FRONT SECOND LARGEST CROWD IN SCHOOL HISTORY

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Women’s Basketball used a strong second half to remain perfect on the season here Saturday as the Golden Suns collected a 56-47 Gulf South Conference win over No. 2 ranked Delta State in a front of a crowd of 3,122 fans inside Tucker Coliseum.

Saturday’s crowd was the second largest in Golden Suns history, only the 3,264 fans that attended Tech’s 2003 NCAA Regional Championship game in Tucker Coliseum against Central Arkansas was larger and the third largest crowd in GSC history.

With the win, Tech, who is ranked ninth in this week’s USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, improves to 18-0 overall and 5-0 in the GSC. The 5-0 start in league play is the third in the last four years and the fifth time since joining the league in 1995-96.

“What a tremendous atmosphere in Tucker Coliseum tonight. The crowd played a huge role in the game and we’re appreciative of their support,” Golden Suns Head Coach Dave Wilbers said. “I thought our defense tonight was really tough and caused them some problems.”

Tech’s defense forced the Lady Statesmen (15-1 overall, 4-1 GSC) into 22 turnovers and the No. 2 shooting team in the league to a season-low 31 percent shooting from the field. The loss was just DSU’s fifth in league play since the beginning of the 2005-06 season.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the play of our guards tonight,” the third-year Tech coach said. “I thought our guards did a good job and containing (Bug) Cooper and (Moe) Bell. I also thought we executed our game plan well.”

Moe Bell finished the night with nine points as she shot 3-for-10 from long distance, while Bug Cooper scored five points, dished out 11 assists, but committed nine turnovers in 40 minutes of action. Cooper struggled shooting the ball as she was just 2-for-17 from the field and 1-for-9 from the 3-point line. The Lady Statesmen shot 21 percent (5-for-24) from the 3-point line in the loss.

After trailing 25-21 at the half, Tech opened the second half on a 11-4 run to take a 32-29 lead just a little over four minutes out of the locker room. During the run, Tech took its first lead of the game on a lay-up by freshman forward Jessica Weatherford (Bonnerdale, Ark.) with 17:28 left in the game.  

DSU, though, answered with a lay-up by Veronica Walker and a three-pointer by Moe Bell to tie the game at 32. Tech then used a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 41-34 with 12:43 left in the game. Tech’s run was aided by five points from junior guard Jenny Vining (Marshall, Ark.) and capped by a basket from Weatherford.

Weatherford led the way for the Tech as she posted her second consecutive double-double as she scored a career-high 24 points and added a career-high tying 11 rebounds. The 24 points and 11 rebounds followed her 23 points and 11 boards in Tech’s 78-74 win Thursday at Ouachita Baptist.

“Jessica played well again tonight inside for us,” Wilbers said. “I thought our inside players did a really good job battling against DSU’s front line.”

The Lady Statesman, who are the four-time defending GSC Champions, responded with a 12-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a 46-45 lead following a lay-up by Walker with 6:37 remaining in the contest.

Walker led DSU with a career-high 28 points and added 18 rebounds. The 18 rebounds is a season-high by a GSC player this season. Walker scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the first half.

Following DSU’s run, Tech retook the lead 14 seconds later on a lay-up by sophomore forward Natalia Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Santos’ lay-up began a 6-0 run by the Golden Suns to push out to a 51-46 advantage with 2:49 left.

After a free throw by Walker dropped Tech’s lead to 51-47 with 1:33 remaining, the Golden Suns closed out the game hitting 5-of-6 free throws, including Weatherford hitting 3-of-4 from the line, to seal the win and snap a 12-game losing skid to the Lady Statesmen. Prior to Saturday, Tech’s last win over DSU came on Jan. 29, 2005, when the Golden Suns picked up a 50-44 win in Russellville.

In addition to Weatherford, Vining finished with 15 points and Santos added nine points and 10 boards.

In the first half, the Lady Statesmen used the scoring of Walker and the passing of Cooper to jump out to a 21-11 lead. Walker scored 15 of those points and Copper recorded six assists during the stretch. Following DSU’s run, Tech slowly chipped away at the lead as they pulled within 22-19 with 57 seconds left in the half following two free throws by Vining.

While DSU struggled shooting the ball, so too, did Tech as the Golden Suns finished shooting a season-low 33 percent from the field and 19 percent (3-for-16) from the 3-point line. In addition, Tech was 19-for-23 at the free throw line as Weatherford was 14-for-15 at the line, including going 9-for-10 at the line in the second half. DSU finished the game shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from the foul line.

DSU held a 41-40 edge on the glass, but Tech held a 22-17 edge in points off turnovers the Golden Suns committed just 14 turnovers on the night.

The Golden Suns will return to action next Thursday, Jan. 28, when they play host to Arkansas-Monticello in a 5:30 p.m. contest at Tucker Coliseum. The Cotton Blossoms fell to 7-10 overall and 1-4 in the West Division standings following its 72-52 home loss Saturday to Harding.

Delta State Box Score

 -- Tech Athletics --