Lady Bears drop third straight
Box Score
CLEVELAND, Miss. -- If there is one glaring piece missing to the Miles 2016-17 women's basketball roster, it is size in the post. When the Lady Golden Bears are not playing strong perimeter defense, it could mean a long night.
That is what happened Monday night at Sillers Coliseum as Delta State scored 44 points in the paint, grabbed seven offensive boards that led to 17 points, and shot 50 percent from the field as Miles dropped its third straight in a 76-52 loss.
Ashley McCrear scored 13 points in the loss for the Lady Bears, who only led once the entire night for a mere 18 seconds.
The Lady Bears (3-3) were down 11 points early in the second quarter but played their most inspired ball over the next four minutes.They scored eight straight points to start the stretch, five by McCrear, as part of a 16-4 run that saw Miles take its first lead - 29-28 - on a
Larian Scott jumper with 3:18 left before the half. But DSU (2-2) would not allow another point in the quarter and went to the locker room with a 37-29 advantage.
Miles would cut the deficit to six points early in the third quarter but Delta State would take control during the period. The Lady Statesmen scored 16 of their 26 points in the paint, the last two coming off a short jumper by Alondrea Rush (13 points) to give DSU a 63-41 lead going to the final quarter. The Lady Bears would get no closer over the final 10 minutes as Delta State would increase its lead to as large as 25 points.
As much as Miles had trouble defending the interior, head coach
Phillip Wallace, Jr. had to be disappointed in the turnovers, which also played a huge role in the defeat. The Lady Bears turned the ball over 24 times (five by
Najla Shamsid-Deen and four each by Scott and
Victoria Sutton) which led to 28 Delta State points.
Kaelin Kneeland scored a game-high 22 points for the Lady Statesmen. Shamsid-Deen (nine points), Scott (seven points) and
Rickeytha Davis (four points, game-high eight rebounds) contributed for Miles, which hosts Montevallo on Wednesday at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
