VALDOSTA, Ga. – Second half shooting led to the demise of the Valdosta State women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon in Valdosta, Ga., as the Nova Southeastern Sharks landed 12 three pointers and scored 49 second half points en route to a 70-58 win over the Lady Blazers.
 
The loss marked the first of the season for Valdosta State and dropped the Lady Blazers to 4-1 overall, while the Sharks improved their overall record to 5-1 on the season.
 
Alexis Murphy, who did not score in the first half, anchored the Sharks' long range barrage in the third and fourth quarter with six three balls in seven attempts. The sharpshooting effort resulted in 18 of 19 total points for the senior in the second half, and fueled a 68.8 shooting percentage (11-of-16) for Nova Southeastern as a team in the third and fourth quarter.
 
Despite the offensive onslaught, the Lady Blazers kept the contest in reach, thanks in large part to another strong outing by freshman guard Aaliyah Cheatham, who scored 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half.
 
NSU trailed 24-21 at halftime, but took their first lead of the afternoon at the 6:50 mark in the third quarter when Sarah Kelly dumped in a layup to put the Sharks on top 33-31. The basket sparked a 14-2 run by Nova, but the Lady Blazers bounced back with a 10-1 run of their own to close out the third quarter with a 46-43 deficit.
 
Valdosta State's resiliency continued in the final frame, and the Lady Blazers used close range buckets by Lydia Harvey, Jazmyn McIntosh, and Cheatham on three consecutive possessions to counter a long three by Kelly and tie the contest at 49-49 with 7:38 remaining.
 
From that moment on, however, Nova took control of the game with five three balls in the final six minutes to outscore Valdosta State 21-9 and claim the victory.
 
Murphy led all scorers in the game, while Taylor Buie added a strong contribution on the attack with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
 
For the Lady Blazers, Cheatham picked up her 14 points on a 6-of-15 shooting effort, while Lydia Harvey added 12 points (5-of-12) and nearly missed a double-double after hauling in eight rebounds.
 
The Lady Blazers must now shift their focus to the Gulf South Conference, beginning with North Alabama, who comes to town this Thursday for a 6:00 p.m. matchup at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga.