TOP PHOTO: Former CCHS Lady Cougar Haley Comer is shown here in a photo from last season.

MORRISTOWN, TN (SPECIAL TO WLAF) – Chattanooga State’s Gee Gee Hollingsworth-Pugh hit a shot with 0.7 seconds left that proved to be the winner Wednesday night as the Walters State women’s basketball team fell in their season opener, 55-54.  

The Lady Senators had a chance at the buzzer, but Blayre Shultz shot was off the mark.  

“We’re young, and we just did some young things tonight,” Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said. “We have to make free throws and take care of the basketball. We’ll grow from it. Chatt did a good job, they have a lot of kids with a lot of experience, and they did their job. We’ll keep working though and get better.”  

Walters State was led in the game by Shultz with 13 points. Vertonia Bady added 11 and five rebounds while Jaida Wiggins had eight points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.  

The Lady Senators struggled from the field in the game, shooting just 34% and 38% from the 3-point line. However, despite the first game struggles, the Lady Senators got good looks at the rim, an encouraging sign in game number one.  

“I think it was just fatigue there a little bit (not capitalizing on shots),” Coleman said. “We had some adversity, and we just need to find a way to deal with it and finish those shots at the rim.”  

It was an encouraging start to the game for Walters State as Shultz scored five quick points and former Campbell County Lady Cougar Haley Comer hit a 3-pointer to give Walters State an early 8-0 lead.  Comer was not quite at full speed last night after being out with illness for a few days prior to the season opener.

The Lady Senators held that lead for most of the first quarter but were dead locked at 12 after one.  

In the second, the Lady Senators once against started the quarter strong with a basket from Quentarra Mitchell and 3-pointer from Wiggins. But it was Chattanooga State who would sustain any sort of offense in the quarter, building a five-point lead late. A Bady jumper would make it a two-point game at the break.  

As if on cue, the Lady Senators began yet another quarter red hot. Bady hit two free throws to tie the game, Mitchell made a layup and Wiggins made a layup to put Walters State up four and force a Chattanooga State timeout.  

While the Tigers tied the game back up, it was Bady who answered the bell with a 3-pointer to regain the lead. From there, the lead went back-and-forth until a Wiggins layup gave the Lady Senators a one-point lead heading to the fourth.  

In the fourth, Shultz hit a 3-pointer early to put the Lady Senators up four, a lead that the Lady Senators held for the first five minutes of the quarter. Chatt State would take the lead with four minutes to go, but Madison McCoy had four straight to make it a three-point game.  

With just 43 seconds left, it appeared Walters State would get their first win of the year after Shultz hit two free throws to make it 54-48. But five quick points and two missed free throws gave the Tigers the ball with four seconds left and Hollingsworth-Pugh rose up to the occasion for the winning bucket. 

 UP NEXT: 

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday, travelling to take on Motlow State. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.  

“We just have to grow up,” Coleman said. “We dealt with a lot of people that don’t have a ton of experience. We just need to grow up quick. If they can grow up and get things done, we’ll be ok. We’ll go back to work tomorrow.”  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/28/2021-6AM)

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