TOP TEAMS ADVANCE TO SEMIS ON MONDAY

The #1 seed Walters State started off the quarterfinal day of women's basketball with a 67-51 win over Pellissippi State.  The second game saw a mild upset as the #5 seed Roane State defeated the #4 seed Dyersburg State by a67-61 score.  Columbia State would use a strong second half to defeat Southwest Tennessee, 74-56.  In the final game of the day, #3 seed Chattanooga State held on for a 59-47 victory over Jackson State.

In the first game, top seeded Walters shot out to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter.  They would maintain that lead and build that lead through the next two quarters; building a lead as big as 21 points early in the fourth quarter.  The Lady Senators would never trail in the game as they connected on 26 of 56 (44.8%) shots from the field, and outrebounded their opponents 43 to 26.

Walters had three players reach double figures with Terryauna Griffin leading the way with 18 points, lly Bennett finished with ten points six rebounds, and two steals.  Kyra Perkins was next with 16 points, seven boards, and a team high four assists.  Rounding out the the double digit scorers was Raegan Starks with 12 points to go with six rebounds and a team high three steals.  Nyjah Gibbs would match Perkins with a team high seven rebounds.  For Pellissippi, they alkso had 3 to reach double figures led by Alice Conrad with 16 points to go with a team high three steals.  Next up was Ashley Crick with 12 points.  Maria Braga also haf 11 points and a team high five assists in the contest.  Crick and Braga each had a team high seven rebounds in the game. 

In the second game, Roane and Dyersburg went toe to toe in the first quarter with the Lady Eagles holding a slim 17-16 lead after the first ten minutes.  The Lady Raiders would take a 12 point lead at the half as they outscored their opponents 26-13 in the second quarter.  Dyersburg cut it to six points in the third stanza, and giot within two late in the game, but timely steals and free throws secured the win for Roane.

Roane had four scorers reach double figures in the contest.  Jenna Bush led the way with 25 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field.  Katie Walker scored 11 points in the game with four steals. mAnaston Holt and Laylka Bouldin each finished with ten points.  Bouldin finished with a team high 11 rebounds and a team high five steals; Holt finished with eight rebounds and a team high five assists.  Dyersburg had two scorers reach double digits led by Alana Seals with 16 points to go with a team high four steals.  Lilly Bennett finished with ten points.  Makayla Skinner had a team high six rebounds while Jakarrah Anderson Sanayah Starks each had three assists.

In the third game of the evening, Columbia stretched a 3 point lead at the half to 9 by outscoring the host Southwest Tennessee 20-14 in the third quarter.  They would fight off several runs by the Lady Sauquis at the start of the fourth quarter before pulling away down the stretch.  Defense was a big key throughout the contest as the Lady Chargers only connected on 38.0% of their shots compared to 27.8% of their attempts.

The Lady Chargers were led by a quartet of double digit scorers with Lily Melton leading the way with 26 points.  She also had 13 rebounds, aqnd led the squad with four steals.  Jacie Scott was next for the victors with 15 points and a team high nine assists.  Jacqueline Hardrick, with 14, and Ansley Burleson with 12 points were the other double digit scorers.  Queen Benjamin would lead the team with 15 rebounds.  The Lady Saluquis had three scorers in double digits with Jaliyah Zackery leading the way with 20 points and a team high 18 rebounds.  Latonya Boyle would contribute 13 pointd, and Wynter Beck would finish with 11 points.  Beck would pull down eight rebounds while leading her team with six assists and five steals.

The Lady Tigers jum[ped out on the Lady Greenjays in the first quarter at 21-6, but saw Jackson slowly crawl back into the game in the next two quarters to lead only 43-38 going into the final quarter.  The game remained close until the final minutes when Chattanooga would pull awa for the victory.  The Lady Tigers shot 44.2% from the field compared to 30.0% for the Lady Greenjays.

Chattanooga had four scorers in double figures.  Leading the way was Alicia Polk with 17 points to go with a team high 14 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  Livia O'Deawas next with 12 points while Ja'Ka'Yah Draughn had 11 and Alivia Reel finished with ten points.  Reel would finish with three assists.  For the Lady Greenjays, Marihya Hart had 23 points as the only player to reach double figures. Janiyah Jones had nine rebounds while Leah Yates and Tamyra Patterson each had eight rebounds.  Hart and Je'Leah Cole each had three assists, and Yates had three steals to lead the team.