VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 56-50 Gulf South Conference loss against the Lady Bucs of Christian Brothers on Saturday afternoon in Valdosta, Ga. 
 
With the loss, the Lady Blazers dropped their overall team record to 11-13 and 7-12 in GSC play. Meanwhile, Christian Brothers advanced to 10-13 and improved to 8-11 in conference play.
 
Valdosta State opened the game with a bang as Aaliyah Cheatham knocked down her first of six three pointers on the day. The Lady Bucs quickly answered back with three easy layups to get back in front, but the Lady Bucs would not keep the lead for long, thanks to Cheatham's second triple of the day.
 
Christian Brothers struck back to knot the score up at 13-13, and with less than a minute to go in the first, a made free throw by April Bonner allowed the Lady Bucs to close out the quarter in front, 14-13.
 
At the 9:53 mark in the second frame, Cheatham hit a jumper to put the pressure back on Christian Brothers. However, Rachel Lee buried a layup less than one minute later to give CBU a one point advantage. The early exchange was indicative of the progression of the second quarter, as the two teams continued to exchange buckets leading to a 28-27 halftime advantage for the Lady Bucs.
 
The Lady Blazers closed out the first half shooting 11-of-22 from the field and 5-7 from the three point line. Meanwhile, the Lady Bucs accumulated 12-of-20 from the field, 3-of-6 from three point range, and 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
 
Cheatham quickly hit her fourth three of the day early in the third quarter and followed with a pull-up jumper to open up a 34-28 lead for VSU within the first two minutes of the period. For the Lady Bucs, four different players scored during the third frame, however, which included five points from Ashley Schaefer. Christian Brothers zoned in on defense and only allowed one additional field goal for VSU, resulting in a 41-38 lead for CBU heading into the final quarter.
 
CBU pushed ahead in the fourth, using a 9-2 run to expand their lead to 50-40. Although VSU turned up the defensive pressure in the closing minutes to force several Lady Buc turnovers, the Lady Blazers failed to capitalize on the opportunities and were unable to overcome the deficit.
 
For Valdosta State, Cheatham led the team with a career high 24 points in a performance that included a 9-of-13 effort from the field and an impressive 6-of-8 shooting display from the three point line. Madi Mitchell finished with 11 points and Maggie Davis added 7 points.
 
For CBU, Schaefer produced a team high 18 points. Samantha Reeves and Courtney Banks added 14 and 13 points, respectively, to help secure the win for the Lady Bucs.
 
The Lady Blazers recognized three standout seniors in honor of Senior Day, as Aliyah Johnson, Maggie Davis, and Lydia Harvey were all celebrated before the main event.
 
Up next for Valdosta State, the Lady Blazers will travel to play another GSC matchup against the Lady Tigers of West Alabama on Thursday night in Livingston, Ala. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and full coverage will be available at vstateblazers.com.