VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team took one step closer to postseason play in 2015 after a convincing 65-49 win over the rival Tigers of West Alabama in Gulf South Conference action at The Complex on Thursday night.
 
The Lady Blazers evened up their season at 13-13 after the Thursday night victory and improved their conference record to 9-11. Meanwhile, the Tigers saw their overall record fall to 10-14, 7-13 in league play.
 
VSU took control of the contest early and jumped out to a 13-4 lead within the first seven minutes of the game, but the Lady Blazers fell victim to a four minute scoring drought that allowed the Tigers to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 9:03 left in the opening frame.
 
Reshaundra Owens connected on a layup 30 seconds later to put VSU up by five. The layup ignited a stretch for the Lady Blazers in which they outscored West Alabama 20-10 throughout the remainder of the first half to open up 33-20 lead at halftime.
 
The Lady Blazers' lead was never in jeopardy in the second half, and Jo Bistrow helped secure the victory with a career high 15 points on the night. Bistrow, the reigning GSC Freshman of the Week, continued her recent hot streak with four three pointers in eight attempts and a three point play early in the first half.
 
In addition to Bistrow, the Lady Blazers saw solid efforts from both Jordan Waugh and Maggie Davis, who each added 12 points. Davis' effort earned the junior her first double-double of the season, as she also hauled in 10 rebounds on the night.
 
Next up for Valdosta State, it's another home matchup against the visiting West Georgia Wolves. The contest is slated for a 6:00 p.m. start, and has been tabbed as the annual Pink Out Game, in which a slew of activities and prize opportunities are planned in order to raise awareness for breast cancer.