Box Score

CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of West Alabama women's basketball team dropped its second straight game and third in Gulf South Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Delta State, 64-44. UWA falls to 6-9 on the season while the Lady Statesmen improved to 9-4 and 3-1 in the conference.

Danielle Cole led the Red and White in scoring with 10 points, marking her second for the Tigers on the campaign and first since the season opener against Florida Southern. Nikkia Jordan hauled down a team-best five rebounds.

Veronica Walker led a trio of Lady Statesmen with 17 points to go along with her team-leading 10 rebounds. Brooke Rhodes and Seneca Walton each added 11 points to round out the double digit performers for the Green and White.

UWA grabbed the early advantage in the contest as Cole scored the first four points for the Red and White, but Aubree Ray gave DSU its first lead on a layup with 15:48 remaining and the Green and White never trailed again in the contest.

DSU held a plus-14 rebounding advantage, the most against the Tigers since the first game of the season against Florida Southern. The 20-point loss is the largest deficit also since FSC earlier this season. The Mocs pulled down 21 more rebounds and defeated the Red and White by 31 points on Nov. 12.

The Lady Statesmen reached its first double digit lead midway through the first half on a Rhandi Ball jumper and grabbed a 13-point advantage with 5:24 remaining before the break, their largest lead of the opening half. The Tigers made a run at the deficit cutting the margin to 25-16 with 3:30 remaining on a jumper by Jamie Gunter, but DSU rattled off an 8-4 run to recapture a 13-point lead at the break.

DSU opened the second half just as strong as it closed the first 20 minutes and reached a 20-point advantage with 6:48 remaining in the contest. The Lady Statesmen grabbed its largest lead of the game at 60-36 with 4:28 left in the contest on a layup by Walker.

West Alabama hosts Valdosta State on Thursday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The game will be carried on ESPN 104.9 FM and www.uwaathletics.com.