Motlow State freshman point guard Tamiah Stanford pulls us for a baseline jumper against Walters State Friday night. Stanford, from Radcliff, Kentucky, has been one of the Lady Bucks’ most consistent players this season. During the weekend’s wins over Walters State and Roane State, Stanford combined for 19 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds and seven steals. Motlow’s next home game is Feb. 3 against Chattanooga State. [Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]
The Lady Bucks (15-2, 7-0) completed their successful weekend at home on Saturday with a 70-56 win over Roane State. Motlow entered the weekend as the No. 15 ranked JUCO team in the nation and has now won nine consecutive games. The Lady Bucks will travel to Memphis on Friday to face Southwest Tennessee.
LADY BUCKS 65 WALTERS STATE 55
The Lady Senators came into Friday’s contest having won a remarkable 110 straight games in the TCCAA, a streak that stretched back over eight years. However, the Lady Bucks took control from the outset, leading 16-8 after one quarter and 35-20 at the half. Motlow had its largest lead, 33-12, with three minutes remaining in the first half.
The Lady Senators (11-6, 6-1) never quit though and fought their way back to close the gap within single digits, 51-43, after three quarters. The Lady Bucks, behind a powerful inside-out combination of Kienya Jones, Sara Vujacic and Sydney Floyd, held off the surge and took their place as the top women’s JUCO team in Tennessee.
Motlow’s defense was outstanding, holding the visitors to 33 percent shooting from the field, including 2-16 from three-point range. The Lady Bucks lost the rebounding battle to the taller Lady Senators 46-31, but Motlow shot 45 percent from the field and hit 4-9 three-point shots.
Jones was the high scorer with 18 points, while Vujacic scored 15 and Floyd had 11. Tamiah Stanford scored nine points, pulled down a team-high six rebounds and dished out three assists. Floyd added five assists and three rebounds, while Jones had four boards. Shalyn Washington added five points, Ty Jones scored four and Aja Robertson had three.
LADY BUCKS 74 ROANE STATE 60
After expending so much physical and emotional energy the night before, the Lady Bucks were somewhat flat on Saturday, although they led after one quarter 22-15. The first nine minutes of the second quarter belonged to the visiting Lady Raiders though, as they outscored Motlow 24-6 to lead 39-28 with one minute to play in the first half.
The Lady Bucks responded by scoring the final eight points of the half and trailed by only three, 39-36, at the break. Floyd was especially dynamic, connecting on 6-9 three-point shots and leading the team in scoring with 20 points.
Motlow slowly expanded its lead in the third quarter and led 57-47 after 30 minutes of play before closing the door in the final stanza.
Vujacic scored 16 points with six assists, five steals and four rebounds, Kienya Jones scored 11 with eight rebounds and three assists; Stanford had a double-double with 10 points, 10 assists, six steals and five rebounds. Washington added six points, Miranda Boutwell scored three, while Ty Jones and Ebony Shaw each had two.
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