CLEVELAND, Tenn.- The Valdosta State Lady Blazers suffered their first Gulf South Conference defeat of the 2015-16 season after a slow second half led to a 65-51 loss to the Lee Flames at Paul Dana Walker Arena on Thursday night in Cleveland, Tenn.
 
The second half, in which the Lady Blazers were outscored 39-19, proved to be the difference for Valdosta State and dropped the team to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Flames improved to 5-3 overall and upped their record to 2-1 against league opponents.
 
The Flames came out of the gate with guns blazing to open up the contest with a 10-1 run, but Valdosta State regained their composure and reeled off 11 straight unanswered points to take their first lead of the night at 12-10 after a long three ball from freshman Aaliyah Cheatham.
 
The bucket represented one of three long range shots by Cheatham in the first half and one of six three pointers by the Lady Blazers in the first half, which pushed the Lady Blazers to a 32-26 advantage at intermission.
 
The second half, however, was controlled by Lee. In the first half, the Flames' leading scorer on the season, sharpshooter Erin Walsh, was held to just seven points and one three pointer, which came in the final seconds leading into halftime. In the second half, however, Walsh found her range to hit 5-of-6 shots from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. With the addition of two second half free throws, Walsh finished the night with 22 points.
 
VSU outscored the Flames off the bench on the night with 23 points from their reserves, 15 of which came from sophomore Jo Bistrow (15 points, 5-of-11). Turnovers plagued Valdosta State throughout the night, however, particularly in the Flames' 24-point third quarter. Lee took full advantage of the Lady Blazers' 20 miscues over the course of the night and capitalized on the opportunities with 32 points scored off of turnovers. Lee held an additional edge in the rebounding column with 15 offensive boards, which led to 11 second chance points.
 
Cheatham's final line included a 3-of-9 shooting effort and a 6-of-6 performance at the stripe, while Lee's Carrie Cheeks posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds (seven offensive). The Flames shot just 14.3 percent from three point range in the first half, but countered that effort by connecting on 6-of-14 in the third and fourth quarters combined.
 
Valdosta State now must turn their attention to Shorter for the second game of this week's road trip, which is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with full coverage at www.vstateblazers.com.