Championship Game Starts at 12:00 pm

Southaven, MS--West Division rivals Arkansas Tech and Delta State will battle for the 2010 GSC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship thanks to respective wins in Saturday's Semi-Finals at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, MS.
            The Title Game matchup marks the third meeting versus ATU and DSU this season and seventh overall battle Conference Title battle.
            No. 1 West seed Arkansas Tech punched its Title Game ticket in the first game of the day, breezing past No. 3 West seed Harding, 68-45.  No. 2 West seed Delta State made it a West Division final for the fifth straight season, clipping No. 1 East seed Valdosta State, 72-60.
            ATU collected its third win over HU this year, pulling away from the Lady Bisons late in the first half.  The contest was tied, 14-14, at 11:40, but the Golden Suns built at 13-point edge at 4:20 via an 11-2 run.  HU did not give up, cutting the deficit to seven at intermission and then five with 18 minutes left in the game.  Arkansas Tech took advantage of a six-minute scoreless drought by HU, grabbing a 14-point lead at 8:49 and never looked back.  ATU shot just 37.3 percent from the field, while Harding shot at a 26.3 clip.  Forward Jessica Weatherford scored a game-high 19 points, while forward Natalia Santos recorded a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds).   ATU earned its ninth all-time Finals trip and seek its third overall Title, first since 2003.
            Four-time defending league champion DSU notched its second win over VSU this season, advancing to its fifth consecutive Final.  The Lady Statesmen took its first lead at 17:28 in the first half and never looked back, fighting off numerous Blazers' surges en route to a 39-25 halftime advantage.  Valdosta State put a scare into the Lady Statesmen, snipping the lead to six with 3:35 left to play, but Delta State righted the ship the rest of the way.  DSU forward Veronica Walker led all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Sarita Cooper added 15 points and nine assists.  
            Tomorrow's Championship Game is set for 12:00 pm Central Time and will be televised live regionally on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, Cox Sports and MediaCom.  For fans that are not in the television viewing area, the contest will also be broadcast over the internet at http://www.gulfsouthconference.org/.

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