ROME, Ga. – A multitude of turnovers proved to be the difference in a 64-58 loss, as Valdosta State fell to the Shorter Lady Hawks in Gulf South Conference women's basketball action on Thursday night at the Winthrop-King Centre in Rome, Ga..
The Lady Blazers saw
Maggie Davis,
Jordan Waugh, and
Imari Simpson all reach double-digit figures in the scoring column, and Valdosta State outrebounded the Lady Hawks 36-29. Unfortunately for the red and black, neither of those factors were enough to overcome the 28 points that Shorter scored off of turnovers.
In the first half, Valdosta State strung together a 14-0 run that began at the 17:43 mark and lasted until Shorter connected on two free throws five minutes later. Strong rebounding and stellar passing fueled the momentum inducing run, and VSU used the push to open up an 18-5 lead.
In the ensuing minutes, the Shorter defense slowed the Lady Blazers' assault and began a run of their own at the 10:14 mark. During the final ten minutes, which were riddled with turnovers by the red and black, the Hawks outscored VSU 20-4 and reclaimed a 31-26 lead by halftime.
The Lady Blazers scored the first six points of the second half to reestablish a one-point lead before the two teams began trading baskets in a stretch of see-saw scoring that featured five lead changes and two ties over the course of next seven minutes.
With just over ten minutes to go in regulation, Iesha Alexander, Shorter's top scorer on the season, hit a three point shot to give the Lady Hawks a 44-41 lead. Although the Lady Blazers would trim the lead to as little as one point multiple times in the final ten minutes, VSU was never able to overcome the deficit.
Alexander finished with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field to lead the Lady Hawks, and 14 of those points came in the second half. The senior connected on both of her attempts from beyond the arc, and hit 5-of-7 shots from the free throw line. Overall, Shorter posted an impressive 45.8, 22-of-48 shooting effort from the field and a 60.0 percent, 6-of-10 display from long range.
With the loss, the Lady Blazers fell to 9-11 overall and 5-9 in GSC play, while the Lady Hawks improved their overall record to 9-11 and 6-9 against league competition.
The Lady Blazers will continue the current road trip on Saturday in Cleveland, Tenn. against the Lee Lady Flames, with the contest set to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.
