Feb. 17, 2008
By Matt Daniels, Citizen Tribune

CLEVELAND — One word summed up the road trip to Cleveland for Walters State Saturday afternoon — survival.

Both WSCC teams put together late runs in their contests at L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium to garner a sweep of Cleveland State in TJCCAA action.

The No. 17 Lady Senators moved within one win of an outright regular season TJCCAA Eastern Division title with a hot shooting performance in the second half and suffocating defense in a 66-47 victory.

In the nightcap, the No. 14 Senators had to rally in the final eight minutes to extend their winning streak to 23 games with a 63-54 victory over the Cougars.

The victory also clinched a tie for the Eastern Division crown for the Senators as well.

Glass Eaters
The Lady Senators (24-4, 12-2) extended their winning streak to a season-best six games by dominating the glass against the homestanding Lady Cougars (16-9, 7-7).

For the second time in less than a month, WSCC grabbed more offensive rebounds than Cleveland State had total rebounds. The Lady Senators raked down 21 offensive boards, and they outrebounded the Lady Cougars 51-20.

WSCC had balanced scoring throughout, with six players scoring at least eight points, and they held Cleveland State to 32 percent shooting for the game on defense.

“We’re just happy to get a win here in Cleveland because it’s a tough place to play,” Lady Senators coach Dave Kragel said.

“It was a very physical ball game, and we were able to get going in the second half on both ends of the floor. We had foul trouble in the first, but we survived it and played much better in the second.”

After a slow start offensively in the first half, WSCC rolled in the final 20 minutes.

The Lady Senators led 26-21 at the half, and the game remained tight through the first six minutes of the second half before WSCC broke the game open.

A putback by Jasmin Coleman with 12:43 remaining sparked an 18-3 run for the Lady Senators, and Brittany Mikels rifled in five points during the seven-minute spurt that extended the lead to 57-36 with 5:43 left in the game.

WSCC shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the second half of the game to improve on the frigid first half. The Lady Senators shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) for the contest, including 2-of-9 from long distance.
Dana Garrett and Megan Rollins each fired in 11 points to pace WSCC, and Garrett recorded a double-double by pulling down 13 rebounds. Allysia Bailey and Nakisha Strickland each had nine points, and Mikels and Sienna Forney both had eight points in the win.

“Brittany and Allysia really stepped up for us today and gave us some good production off the bench,” Kragel said.

“It’s a good overall team win, and we did a good job on the boards again today.”

Kanita Holloway led Cleveland State with nine points in the loss.

23 and counting
The Senators (26-1, 13-1) pushed their winning streak to 23 games with the win over the Cougars (12-13, 6-8), but they had trouble putting away the pesky home squad.

WSCC shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the floor, but Cleveland State was able to hang around behind the stellar play of Tray Okoth.

Okoth scored 26 points - nine above his average - to keep the Cougars in the game, but a 19-2 edge in bench points for the Senators was the key.

“Our bench really carried us for the last part of the first half, and they helped us get the lead back late in the game,” WSCC coach Bill Carlyle said.
“Chris Talley and Austin Woodrick helped jump start us, and they played very well.”

Cleveland State built up a 21-14 lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half before Woodrick and Talley ignited the Senators.

Woodrick netted six points and Talley added five, including a trey from both, in a 14-2 run to close the half with WSCC on top, 28-23.

The Senators looked to put the game away early in the second half, as A.J. Thomas, who was held scoreless in the first half, made a pair of baskets and Michael Jenkins added five points to give WSCC a 42-30 lead.

Okoth took over for the Cougars following the spurt by the Senators, and the one-man show for Cleveland State scored 12 points in a 14-0 run that put the Cougars back on top 44-42.

It was a see-saw affair for the next five minutes before Talley made back-to-back buckets for WSCC to put them on top for good, and the Senators closed he game on a 14-5 run in the last 4:32.

Sirlester Martin recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead WSCC, while Jenkins tallied 11 points and Thomas had 10 in the win.
“This was a big time win for us after Cleveland was able to upset Motlow here last Saturday,” Carlyle said.

“Now we have at least a tie for the conference title, and hopefully we can get another win in the next two games to clinch the title by ourselves.”
Clarence Threat added 10 points to aid Okoth in the loss for Cleveland State.

Walters State will return to the hardwood Wednesday night at ‘Z’ Buda Gymnasium when they host Hiwassee College in another TJCCAA showdown. Scheduled start time on Sophomore Night is set for 6 p.m. for the Lady Senators and 8 p.m. for the Senators.