LADY STATESMEN PLACE TWO ON ALL-GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE TEAM; WALKER AND RUSHING NAMED PLAYER AND COACH OF THE YEAR

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For decades, the Delta State University Lady Statesmen basketball team has produced some of the all-time greats in Gulf South Conference history. On Tuesday, March 2, Veronica Walker, a 6-foot-1 center from Indianola, added her name to the list, as the sophomore was named the GSC West Division Player of the Year in a vote by the league’s 14 coaches. Walker becomes the 11the Lady Statesmen in history and the third in four years to receive the honor. Joining Walker on the All-GSC First Team is junior point guard Sarita “Bug” Cooper, who returns to the All-GSC First Team for a second straight season.

“I’m extremely proud of what my ladies have accomplished on and off the court,” Lady Statesmen head coach Sandra Rushing stated. “We play like a family and we win like a family. No one player is capable of doing it by their self. You have to work as a unit and that’s how we’ve been so successful. Veronica and Bug are two of the best players I’ve ever seen and they feed off each other. This is such an honor for them.”

While Walker and Cooper were named to the All-GSC First Team, Lady Statesmen head coach Sandra Rushing was named the GSC West Division Coach of the Year for a fifth-straight season. Rushing has accomplished something no other coach in GSC history has done – winning five-straight GSC Coach of the Year honors. Rushing has guided the Lady Statesmen to a 23-2 record and a fifth-straight GSC West Division title. Over the last five seasons, the green-and-white are 144-17 (.895) with four-straight league championships, four-straight NCAA “Sweet 16” appearances, and back-to-back NCAA South Region championships and Final Four appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Walker has been dominant this season for the Lady Statesmen, averaging 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. In 25 games, the Indianola native has hit on 66.9 percent of her field goal attempts to lead all of NCAA Division II basketball in field goal percentage. She ranks second in scoring and rebounds in the GSC, while holding the conference lead in FG percentage and blocks. In Walker’s last 10 games, she has been simply dominant, averaging 23.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. In 2008-09, Walker was named the GSC West Division Freshman of the Year.

Cooper, a 5-foot-6 junior point guard for the Lady Statesmen, has re-written the record books in her three seasons at Delta State. In 2008-09, Cooper led the NCAA in assists at 7.8 per game , this season the lightning-quick point has done it again, averaging 8.6 assists per game, and for her efforts was named to the 2009-10 All-Gulf South Conference West Division First Team by a vote of the league’s coaches on Tuesday. The Indianola native averaged 9.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals to go along with the 8.6 assists per game. Cooper is also the first Lady Statesmen to go over 200-assists in back-to-back seasons since All-American Ramona Von Boeckman in 1976-1977.

[GoStatesmen.com]