Lady Statesmen claim GSC Tournament title; DSU men fall short

By Staff
Special to The Star
March 5, 2001
TUPELO Katrina King and Jamie Howard combined to score Delta State University's final 16 points as the Lady Statesmen claimed the 2001 Gulf South Conference Tournament title here Sunday afternoon at BancorpSouth Arena with a 60-52 victory over the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns.
The title was the Lady Statesmen's third straight and sixth in the last seven years. Delta State also improved its winning streak to 15 games and currently owns the most wins in NCAA Division II with a 30-2 record.
Arkansas Tech, which fell to 22-7 overall, jumped out to an early 16-8 lead. The Lady Statesmen used a 14-0 run to take a 22-16 lead on the way to a 30-26 lead at halftime.
The Lady Statesmen never trailed in the second half but did find the game tied 35-35 with 13:13 left. DSU went on a 5-2 run to build the lead back to 42-37 lead with 9:52 to play.
A Howard four-point play with 1:19 left in the contest helped DSU expand a three-point edge into a seven-point lead. Howard canned a 3-pointer, and after being fouled by Melanie Mallett, sank a free throw to give the Lady Statesmen a 55-48 lead.
King was DSU's leading scorer with 19 points. Caroline Boclair followed with 16 points while Megan Teel had 12. Boclair was the top rebounder with 11 and King was close behind with 10.
Ginny Shaw led Arkansas Tech with 16 points and six rebounds. Emily Walker had 12 points and Angie Harris, who was held to her lowest point total in seven games, scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Representing DSU on the All-Tournament team were Boclair (Most Outstanding Player) and King. The remainder of the team includes Crystal Allen (Ouachita Baptist), Kelly Barrett (West Florida), Shaw (Arkansas Tech) and Angie Harris (Arkansas Tech).
Delta State earns the GSC's automatic bid and will now host the 2001 NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Henderson St. 63, Delta St. 53: Niki Arinze scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Henderson State University to a 63-53 win over Delta State University and claim the 2001 Gulf South Conference Tournament championship Sunday afternoon.
The win gave the Reddies a GSC record third consecutive tournament title while improving to 20-9. Delta State fell to 19-10.
Henderson State led by as many as 12 points in the first half but found its lead shaved to six at 35-29 at the half. The Statesmen got within three points at 52-49 with 1:02 to play. HSU held DSU at bay making 9-of-9 free throws in the final minute.
Kenyuan Morris was Henderson State's top scorer with 20 points followed by Brian Woodland's 10.
Dennis Douglas led Delta State with 13 points and six rebounds. Anthony Schiro and Walker Jackson each had 10 points each. Jon Parker and Shane Alexander each had six.
Douglas and Jackson were DSU's representatives on the All-Tournament team. Rafi Stevens (Henderson State), Steve Green (Arkansas-Monticello), Brian Woodland (Henderson State), and Arinze (Henderson State, Most Outstanding Player) round out the All-Tournament team.