Feb. 20, 2008
By Matt Daniels, Citizen Tribune

The Walters State Lady Senators have a rich tradition in the TJCCAA that is unparalleled across the state, and this year’s team added to the history of the program Wednesday night by capturing the TJCCAA Eastern Division title for the 13th time under coach Dave Kragel.

The No. 14 Lady Senators wrapped up a perfect regular season home schedule and extended their winning streak to seven games with an 86-40 rout of visiting Hiwassee on sophomore night at ‘Z’ Buda Gymnasium.

Walters State improved to 25-4 overall with the win, and they moved to 13-2 in TJCCAA action. The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 11-12 and 6-9.
Kragel admitted that the win was indeed bittersweet because it was the last regular season home game for six sophomores. The sophomore class has compiled a 48-16 record in their two years at Walters State.

“It was a tough night for me tonight with it being sophomore night,” Kragel said. “This has been a great group of sophomores, and they have been great leaders.

“They played well for me last year and we made it to the national tournament, and it kind of dawned on me during warmups that this was their last regular season game here. I’ve really enjoyed being around them.”

The Lady Senators made sure that sophomores Sienna Forney, Megan Rollins, Tiffany Travis, Dana Garrett, Jasmin Coleman and Nakisha Strickland went out on a high note, and they did it with a balanced effort on both ends of the floor.

Walters State used their relentless defense to force a staggering 36 turnovers by Hiwassee, which led directly to 47 points.

On offense, the Lady Senators put together one of their most productive games of the year with 29 assists compared to just eight turnovers, and at least seven players had seven points in the win.

The rebounding dominance continued as well with Walters State holding a 40-22 edge on the glass, including 24 offensive rebounds.

“I was extremely proud of the entire team tonight,” Kragel said. “They all played well, and we were able to play everyone. We’ll need every player to step up and be productive when the region tournament starts.”
Despite the final score, the game appeared to be heading for a close decision in the opening 10 minutes. Neither team could break away from the other, and the score was deadlocked at 21-21 with 10:22 left in the first half.

Hiwassee was picking apart the interior defense of the Lady Senators with pick and rolls, but Kragel made adjustments during two timeouts that changed the outlook of the game.

Walters State effectively stopped all penetration and ball screens for the remainder of the half, and the Lady Tigers never recovered.
Brittany Mikels made a basket that started the offensive avalanche leading to halftime for the Lady Senators.

Rollins and Garrett each added six points, and Travis made a basket off an assist from Garrett that closed the 22-4 run over the final 10 minutes to give Walters State a 43-25 lead at the break.

“Hiwassee was doing a good job of going over the top with their screens early on, and we had to adjust to that,” Kragel said. “We did a good job of taking away their big post (Samantha Avery), and that really hurt them once we stopped her.”

The defense for the Lady Senators stood tall once again in the second half, as they limited the Lady Tigers to four field goals in the frame. All told, Hiwassee made just six shots in the final 30:22 of the contest.

Walters State finished the game shooting 46.4 percent (39-of-84) from the floor, which included just 2-of-16 from long range.

Garrett and Rollins led the Lady Senators with 12 points apiece, and Allysia Bailey added 10 points in the win. Strickland, Rhon’Neisha Taylor and Derika Mooney each added eight points for Walters State.

The Lady Tigers shot 38.5 percent (15-of-39) from the field in the contest.. Sabra Lawson paced Hiwassee with 11 points in the loss.

The Lady Senators will return to action Saturday afternoon when they travel to Lynchburg to tangle with Motlow State. Scheduled start time is set for 3 p.m.