BY BRIAN HAMILTON
KNOXVILLE – Terryauna Griffin was back in her hometown of Knoxville on Wednesday night, where she needed only one point to clear the 1,000-point threshold and nine points to set the all-time scoring record at Walters State.
Griffin hit 1,000 early in the first quarter on a jumper and she would break the scoring record on the first play in the first quarter when she stole the ball and took it for a layup.
Walters State’s Nyjah Gibbs (15) goes to the basket while Pellissippi State’s Ashley Crick (10) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“Clearly, for the program and for her, it’s great,” Walters State coach Jasmin Coleman said after the game. “You work hard and Griff, she’s done a great job here, but now that she’s got the record, it’ll be tougher. People will play her tougher, so she’s got to toughen up.”
The record stood in the Walters State record books since 1998, when Joanie Mungrow finished with 1,007 points before heading to Clemson to finish her career. Griffin and Mungrow are the only two Lady Senators to ever eclipse the 1,000-point mark.
“It means a lot,” Griffin said of setting the scoring record. “I’m just blessed and grateful, especially where I came from. I’m enjoying every bit of it, even the hard moments and hard practices. Coach was always letting me know I was going to do big things.”
Pellissippi struck first when Amelia Richardson hit a jumper, but Nyjah Gibbs scored on the other end to tie the game at 2-2. A three-pointer by Anaya Mulholland-Natt would give the Lady Senators a 5-2 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
Ellie Linx would answer with a three to tie the game at 5-5. A jumper by Terryauna Griffin put Walters State back in front 7-5, but Richardson would answer with a layup to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:20 remaining.
Pellissippi State regained the lead when Linx nailed a long two-point basket to put the Lady Panthers in front 11-10, but a basket by Griffin would pull Walters State back in front 12-11. The Lady Senators would extend the lead to 15-12 on a layup by Gibbs with just over one minute left in the period.
A Griffin three-pointer would extend the Lady Senators’ lead to 18-12 with six seconds left, but Linx would come down and hit a three at the buzzer to trim the Walters State lead to 18-15 after the first quarter.
Griffin grabbed a steal and raced the other way for a layup early in the second quarter to set the new all-time scoring record for Walters State and give the Lady Senators a 20-15 lead.
Walters State would stretch the lead to 24-17 on a rebound and basket by Raegan Starks, but a pair of Pellissippi State baskets would pull the Lady Panthers to within 24-21 with just over seven minutes left in the half.
Pellissippi State’s Amelia Richardson (15) goes up for a basket during the Lady Panthers’ 65-53 loss to Walters State on Wednesday. Photo by Brian Hamilton
A conventional three-point play by Gibbs would extend the Walters State lead to 27-21 with 6:50 left in the second quarter. A Richardson layup, followed by a free throw by Maiya Moore would cut the Lady Senator lead to 27-24 midway through the period.
Walters State would pull in front 31-24 on a pair of layups by Gibbs and Starks. The Lady Senators would embark on a 9-0 run, capped by a rebound and put back by Starks, stretching the lead to 36-24 with 29 seconds left.
Pellissippi State’s Autumn Crick would split a pair of free throws on the next possession, as Walters State took a 36-25 lead into the half.
Ashley Crick hit a three to open the third quarter for Pellissippi State, trimming the deficit to 36-28, but Mulholland-Natt answered with a jumper on the other end to push the lead to 38-28.
The Lady Senators would extend the lead to 44-30 midway through the third quarter on a basket by Starks, but Pellissippi was not going to go quietly into the night.
A pair of baskets by Ashley Crick and Karley Hunt would pull the Lady Panthers to within 45-36 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. A driving layup by Richardson and a basket by Moore would trim the Pellissippi deficit to 47-40 with 43 seconds left. Richardson hit another layup with 16 seconds remaining to make the score 47-42.
Gibbs had a layup at the buzzer blocked and the Lady Senators went to the fourth quarter clinging to a five point lead after Pellissippi closed the quarter on a 12-3 run.
Pellissippi State continued that run into the fourth quarter, as Autumn Crick scored on a layup to make the score 47-44. Karley Hunt hit a jumper on the next Pellissippi possession to cut the Walters State lead to 47-46, as the Lady Panthers’ run ballooned to 16-3.
“We weren’t doing a good job of executing and we were kind of doing our own thing, but we’ve got to work on (executing) more in practice,” Coleman said of the drought. “It always goes back to fundamentals.”
Tierra Coleman (10) pulls down a rebound over Pellissippi State defenders. Photo by Brian Hamilton
A free throw and basket by Starks would end the bleeding for Walters State and gave the Lady Senators a 50-46 lead. Hunt answered with a basket to make the score 50-48, but the Lady Senators then went on an 8-0 run, capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by Nyjah Gibbs, giving Walters State a 58-48 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Gibbs then bit a jumper to stretch the lead to 60-48, as it appeared that Pellissippi was running out of gas in its comeback attempt.
Linx would hit a three to pull the Lady Panthers to within 60-51 with 3:33 left to end a 10-0 Walters State run, but Tierra Coleman hit a layup to put the Lady Senators ahead 62-51.
Walters State would go on to win 65-53, as the Lady Senators picked up their 12th consecutive win. A win over Columbia State on Saturday will clinch the TCCAA regular season title for the Lady Senators.
The Lady Senators had to fight tooth and nail for the win on Wednesday night, but was a good test, as their last win closer than 20 points was against Cleveland State back on February 4.
“At this point in the year, after you’ve beat a team by 50 or 60, getting up to play and understand how much harder teams will play the second time around, is hard,” Coleman said. “We have four sophomores so they should understand, but whether we do or not, that’s another story. You’ve just got to get a better understanding that teams won’t roll over. Not now and not in the tournament.”
Nyjah Gibbs led Walters State with 17 points, while Terryauna Griffin and Raegan Starks finished with 16 apiece for the Lady Senators. The 16 points now gives Griffin 1,015 for her career.
Ellie Linx, Autumn Crick and Amelia Richardson each finished with 11 apiece for Pellissippi State. Ashley Crick added nine points, while Maiya Moore scored eight.
“It was a physical game, but it’s a game we needed,” Coleman said. “The going after the ball and reaching and grabbing, that stuff was allowed to be called, but you’ve got to toughen up because all it is is preparation for the tournament.”
Walters State (22-2, 18-0 TCCAA) will host Columbia State on Saturday with a conference championship at stake, while Pellissippi State (11-13, 7-10 TCCAA) will travel to Volunteer State on Saturday.