VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers struggled to find rhythm during the Gulf South Conference matchup against the Lady Choctaws of Mississippi College and ultimately fell 68-63 on Saturday afternoon at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga.

Valdosta State was unable to stop the aggressive Lady Choctaws in the first quarter. The Lady Blazers committed costly team fouls that led Mississippi College to the line. The Lady Choctaws went on to hit all eight of their free throws, which led to a 13-7 deficit for VSU at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Blazers looked to gain momentum in the second quarter over the Lady Choctaws with one of their best offensive quarters of the season. Valdosta State scored 26 points in the frame, many of which came from Lydia Harvey, who hit 5 of her 6 three-pointers in the first half alone to give the Lady Blazers a 33-29 advantage at the break. As a team in the first half, Valdosta State shot 46.2 percent from the three-point range compared to the Lady Choctaws' 20 percent.

Mississippi College entered the second half with two quick layups to tie the game. Shortly after, Maggie Davis came up with a huge steal, which allowed Harvey to secure her sixth three-pointer of the day. The Lady Choctaws answered right back on the ensuing possession and cut the deficit to one point with a layup from Carla Clemmons. However,  Jo Bistrow knocked down two free-throws and a jumper within the next two minutes to allow Valdosta State to remain ahead 48-41 at the close of the third quarter.

Despite trailing by seven, a resilient Lady Choctaws squad opened the final quarter with a quick jumper and an easy layup to stay in the game and cut VSU's lead to 48-45. The two scores sparked a 12-5 run during the first five minutes of the frame, which tied the contest up at 53-53 at the 5:13 mark. The two teams battled it out on the court to force lead changes four different times in the final four minutes, but MC's 58.3 percent (14-of-24) shooting effort in the second half proved to be the difference, as the Lady Choctaws scored 27 fourth quarter points to claim the comeback win.

VSU's Harvey produced a stellar shooting day, as she knocked down a career-high of 6 three-pointers to contribute 18 points. Furthermore, Davis tallied 14 points and led the team with six rebounds, while Madi Mitchell and Bistrow both added eight points apiece.

For the Choctaws, Clemmons was a force near the basket, scoring 22 of MC's 36 points in the paint on 11-of-15 shooting, while Cloe Roberts and Kristen Sampson added 17 and 15 points, respectively.

With the upset, Valdosta State dropped to 6-5 overall and 2-4 in GSC play. Meanwhile, the Lady Choctaws captured their first conference victory of the season to improve to 1-5 in league play and 3-6 overall.

The Lady Blazers will hit the road for another GSC matchup against the Lady Bucs of Christian Brothers on January 2^nd at 3:00 p.m. EST, following a short hiatus for the holidays.