FLORENCE, Ala. – Untimely turnovers and a disappointing second half shooting effort led to a 70-54 Gulf South Conference loss for the Valdosta State women's basketball team against the Lions of North Alabama at Flowers Hall on Saturday afternoon in Florence, Ala.
The setback caused Valdosta State to drop their overall team record to 9-9 and 5-8 in GSC play. Meanwhile, the Lions advanced to 3-15 and 2-11 in conference play.
The Lady Blazers delivered a convincing first quarter performance, with a 64.3 percent shooting display against UNA's 42.9 percentage from the field.
Madi Mitchell produced six early points in the frame, and VSU used the opportunity to open up a nine point, 23-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
Maggie Davis knocked down a three pointer within the first two minutes of the second to widen the gap. Davis' three ball was the last for the Lady Blazers, however, until the 4:30 mark. As a result, Valdosta State was held to eight points in the quarter, and the Lions turned up the defensive pressure to force eight second quarter turnovers. North Alabama capitalized on the opportunity and flipped the game in their favor to take a 40-31 lead after accumulating 26 points in the period on 12-for-25 shooting from the field..
North Alabama maintained a substantial lead throughout the third quarter with the efforts of Shunice Herron, who knocked down two three-pointers in the quarter for six of her 13 points in the game. The Lions outscored the Lady Blazers again in the third, 17-13, which extended UNA's lead to 57-44 before the final period.
Valdosta State's ultimate demise came as a result of a poor offensive effort in the second half, which consisted of seven field goals in 27 attempts. The 25.9 percent shooting performance whittled a 44.0 percent first half effort down to 34.6 on the afternoon. Additiionally, UNA continuously capitalized on VSU's mistakes, scoring 24 points off of the Lady Blazers' 19 turnovers.
The highlight of the game for Valdosta State was Davis, who posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.Mitchell added a team high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 effort from the charity stripe.
Janae Lyde led the Lions with 17 points and Alexus Patterson contributed 14 points and nine boards.
Valdosta State will return home next Thursday, where they will face the Hawks of Shorter in another GSC matchup at 6:00 p.m. at the Complex in Valdosta, Ga. Full coverage will be available at www.vstateblazers.com
