VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Lady Blazers of Valdosta State put up an impressive defensive effort during the closing minutes of Wednesday night's Gulf South Conference matchup against Lee to win 65-62 and hand the Lady Flames their first loss of the season.

The Lady Flames began the contest with an impressive shooting display that was driven by the 4-of-5 three point shooting effort of Lee's Emily Walsh and a 6-of-9 team effort from long range.
The second half was a different story, however, as the Lady Blazers locked down on defense midway through the second half to allow just three field goals in the final 13 minutes of the game.

Prior to the Lee drought, the Lady Flames had broken a 35-35 halftime score with a 17-4 run in the first seven minutes of the second period to open up a 52-39 lead. The tide turned from that point forward, though. Lee struggled to find the basket and the Lady Blazers finished the contest with a 26-10 run that closed out the final 12:51 of the contest and helped Head Coach Kiley Hill and his squad secure their second league win of the season.

Valdosta State matched the Lady Flames with a strong performance of their own in the first half with a percentage of 50 percent from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from long range. April Thomas scored 12 of her 20 points in the frame, and each of the seniors three long range shots all came in the first half.

Thomas' biggest shot of the night came within the final minute, when she drove the lane and scooped in a four-footer off the glass at the 0:29 mark to give the Lady Blazers a 63-60 lead. Lee's Christina Johnson closed the gap to one after burying a layup with seven seconds to go, but Amy Duke hit two clutch free throws with four seconds on the clock, and the Lady Flames were unable to get a shot off in their final possession.

Imari Simpson continued to perform well for Valdosta State and notched another double-digit scoring night with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Nearly half of Simpson's offensive output came from the stripe, as the junior tallied seven out of nine attempts from the free throw line.

The Lady Blazers claimed the big conference victory, despite a 46.7 percent shooting performance by the Lady Flames from the three point line. Walsh led all Lee scorers with 22 points in the contest.

Following the win, Valdosta State improved to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in GSC play. Meanwhile, the Lady Flames fell to 5-1 overall and 2-1 against league competition.

The Lady Blazers pick right back up with another conference matchup against the visiting Shorter Hawks on Monday night in Valdosta. Action tips off at 6:00 p.m. at the Complex, and Blazer Nation can follow all of the action live at www.vstateblazers.com.