VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Lady Blazers picked up their third straight victory and their sixth home win of the season after defeating the Shorter Lady Hawks 69-54 in Gulf South Conference women's basketball action on Monday night at The Complex.
The Lady Blazers improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 against league competition, while the Lady Hawks fell to .500 on the year with a 5-5 overall record and a 1-3 mark in GSC play.
The Lady Blazers fell behind by four in the opening minutes after allowing two quick layups to Shorter's Lindsey Crawford and Maggie Peeples. Just inside the third minute of the game, however, Valdosta State reclaimed the lead with a three pointer by
Jordan Waugh and a layup by
Maylisa Johnson.
Shorter scored on another layup seconds later before allowing another easy bucket by Johnson. The score came by way of a
Maggie Davis assist and allowed VSU to take a 7-6 lead. The advantage was one that the Lady Blazers would retain throughout the remainder of the first period, despite a 9-4 run by Shorter in the final five minutes of the frame.
Valdosta State connected on seven of their first nine shots of the game to set the tone early on a night in which Head Coach
Kiley Hill's squad shot outshot the Lady Hawks 48.1 percent to 37.0 percent.
Shorter's effort from the charity stripe proved to be costly, as the Lady Hawks connected on just 11 of their 21 attempts. In contrast, the Lady Blazers shot 10-of-14 for a 71.4 percentage from the line.
Three Lady Blazers reached double-digit figures in the scoring column in the contest, and Valdosta State's leading scorer,
April Thomas, led the charge with 19 points and a 4-of-7 effort from long range.
Imari Simpson posted 14 points to help the cause, while Waugh added ten points and seven rebounds.
The final two contests before the holiday break will take place on the road, as the Lady Blazers travel to Mississippi to face the rival Lady Statesmen of Delta State on Thursday night, followed by a Saturday matchup against the Mississippi College Lady Choctaws. Blazer Nation can follow all of the action live throughout the duration of the road trip with live coverage that can be accessed right here at www.vstateblazers.com.
