Delta State University

CLEVELAND, Miss. - Ouachita Baptist freshman guard A'Laeshia Adams scored a game-high 26 points, 15 in the second half, as the seventh-seeded Lady Tigers (22-8) upset No. 2 seed Fort Valley State 69-55 in a quarterfinal game of the NCAA Division II Women's South Regional.

Fort Valley State ends the season at 26-5.

Ouachita Baptist started the game slowly falling behind 18-9 early on. But the Lady Tigers out-scored FVSU 19-4 to the break and led 28-22 at the half.

"We played about as poorly as I've seen us play all year that first 14 minutes," Ouachita Baptist coach Garry Crowder said. "This is the first time these kids have been in this setting, in an NCAA regional, and I think we were just a little nervous. We couldn't make a shot. Once we settled down and got in the flow of the game, we played better.

"We play in the Gulf South (Conference) West. I'm not taking anything from Fort Valley, but we've played some awfully good teams this year and we felt we were prepared to play somebody as talented as Fort Valley."

Adams shot 9-of-23 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. She also converted twice late in the game on conventional 3-point plays. In addition, Adams had nine rebounds.

"At the beginning of the game, I think we were playing to keep from losing," Adams said. "We weren't playing scared, we weren't playing our game. We made that comeback and eventually took the lead."

Haley Griffin notched a double-double for Ouachita Baptist with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Miranda Parker and Domino Miller scored nine points each.

Fort Valley State was paced by Takesha Riggs' 17 points. Kendra Evans had 10.

Ouachita Baptist will play the winner of either Tampa or Clark-Atlanta in a semifinal matchup Saturday at 6 p.m.