WALTERS, CHATTANOOGA TO PLAY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP

As four teams advanced into semifinal play on Monday, Walters and chattanooga were able to survive and advance to the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Championship.  Walters fought off a pesky Roane squad in the first semi as the Lady Senators prevailed by a 54-45 final.  Chattanooga pulled a mild upset as they defeated #2 seed Motlow 61-53.

Walters would take an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter before Roane would get on the board.  A late push by the Lady Raiders found themselves down 12-11 at the end of the quarter.  Roane would struggle in the 2nd stanza as they would connect on 14% of their shots in the quarter.  Walters would also struggle, but made a few more shots to lead 24-17 at the break.  The second half of play saw both squads make runs with Roane taking a brief lead with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter 31-30. Walters would retake the lead and never relinquish it the rest of the contest as they would take their largest lead of the game three minutes into the 4th quarter.

The Lady Senators placed three players in double figurew with Zacharyia Esmon leading the way with 15 points.  Briana Dixon and Diamond Forrest each chipped in with 10 points.  Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu led the squad with 6 rebounds, and Dison led with three assists and three steals.  The Lady Raiders had two ladies in double figures led by Adalys Brown with 13 points.  Amber Appiah-Kubi chipped in with 11.  Cinthia Mbakop led the team with seven rebounds.  

Chattanooga took the lead early in their contest and never gave it back as they held on down the stretch for their spot in the finals.  They jumped out to a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and extended that to 32-18 by the break at halftime.  Motlow would make a strong push in the 4th quarter and make it a game, but the Lady Tigers were able to secure the win with free throws in the final minutes. 

Shanice Nelson and Ashlyn Baker led the Lady Tigers with 15 points apiece.  Zikaya Wright would come off the bench to lead the team with 13 rebounds.  Mackenzie Trouten would lead with three assists and three steals.  Janna Lewis would be the only Lady Buck with double digits as she poured in 28 points and 3 steals in the contest.  Azhane Bacot led the team with 13 rebounds.