HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s women’s basketball team geared up for conference play on Wednesday with an impressive 76-65 victory over Georgia Highlands at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Freshman Joy Sadler led the way with 16 points for Wallace State, sophomore Kelsey Houston drained five more 3-pointers, finishing with 15 points, and the Lady Lions had 12 players score at least two points.
Wallace State (11-5) registered as much as a 22-point lead in the second half, avenging a December road loss to the Chargers.
“I was pleased with the way we played. We shot the ball well and played much better defense than we did in Georgia. We have to continue to learn how to finish games. It’s not our job to stop playing. It’s the opponents’ job to stop us,” said coach Ron Burdette, who’s in his sixth season at Wallace State. “Some of our freshmen are starting to come around, and our sophomores are playing solid. We are getting contributions up and down the bench.”
Wallace State led 19-15 after Wednesday’s first quarter after Houston nailed a pair of 3-pointers to close the first 10 minutes. Houston, a Tanner graduate, has hit a conference-best 46 treys in 16 games this season.
The Lady Lions built a 23-15 lead with 9:11 to go in the second quarter on a Morgan Higgins’ trey and led 38-32 at halftime.
With 3:48 remaining in the third quarter, Wallace State led 44-39 before closing the period on a 9-3 run. Wallace State’s Alexis Cooper scored all six of her points during the surge, and Houston added a 3-pointer for a 53-42 advantage after three.
The Lady Lions convincingly pulled away at the outset of the fourth quarter, using an 11-2 spurt for a 64-44 cushion.
Higgins and Gabby Hill scored eight points apiece for Wallace State, while Cooper and Sydney Powell each added six points.
Pam Diokpara paced Georgia Highlands with 20 points, Sydney Garnigan had 15 and Kateryna Khomenko added 13.
Wallace State travels to Cleveland (Tennessee) State on Saturday before conference play begins on Jan. 12 at Gadsden State.
“It’s going to be a totally different animal on the road in the conference. We have to be ready,” Burdette said.
Wallace State’s men’s team hosts USC-Salkehatchie on Friday at 3 p.m.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit www.athletics.wallacestate.edu.
