In what will surely go down as one of the greatest games played in Tucker Coliseum, the Golden Suns overcame an early deficit to topple a conference superpower and stake their claim as the top team in the Gulf South Conference.

Delta State entered the clash of top-10 teams ranked second and seeking its fifth straight GSC title. The Lady Statesmen (15-1, 4-1) flexed their muscle early, racing out to an 8-1 lead and holding ninth-ranked Tech without a field goal until a Jenny Vining 3-pointer ended a five minute drought, cutting the Delta State lead to 8-4.

The Lady Statesmen would continue to exert their dominance though, extending their advantage to 21-11 with 6:43 remaining in the first half. However, the Golden Suns (18-0, 5-0) would not go quietly. Tech closed the first half on a 10-4 run, trailing 21-25 at the break.

That momentum would carry into the second half, as the Golden Suns surged out to take their first lead of the game at 28-27 on a Jessica Weatherford layup. Tech would surrender that lead only once, at the 6:37 mark. The Golden Suns would reclaim the lead a mere 14 seconds later and would never relinquish it, holding on to defeat the favored Lady Statesmen by a final count of 56-47.

Jessica Weatherford led the way for the Golden Suns with 24 points. The Lake Hamilton product also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, recording her second straight double-double performance and bolstering her bid for freshman of the year honors. Jenny Vining poured in 15 points, and Natalia Santos finished a point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Statesmen were led by sophomore center Veronica Walker, who turned in a monster performance with 28 points and 18 rebounds in a losing effort. Reigning west division player of the week Sarita “Bug” Cooper added five points and 10 assists.

The victory gave the Golden Suns sole possession of first place in the West Division and ended a fiveyear drought against the Lady Statesmen. It was only the second conference loss for Delta State in the last three seasons. The 3,122 in attendance represented the second-largest crowd in school history.

The Golden Suns return to action tonight in Tucker Coliseum against Arkansas-Monticello. The  Cotton Blossoms (7-10, 1-4) were picked third in the west division, but have struggled without allconference performer Monica Perkins-Miller. The Golden Suns and Cotton Blossoms will tip off tonight at 5:30.