CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team took the West Georgia Wolves down to the wire in Gulf South Conference basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Carrollton, Ga., but a last second foul gave UWG three free throws and led to a heartbreaking 60-58 loss for the Lady Blazers.
The Lady Blazers overcame a 27-36 deficit with a strong third quarter, and the two teams went toe-to-toe throughout the final frame. In the fourth, which featured six lead changes,
Jazmyn McIntosh hit a bucket in the paint to give VSU a 58-57 lead with nine seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Katrina Littlepage was fouled on a last second three point attempt and hit all three shots to give West Georgia the Senior Day victory in The Coliseum.
The free throws capped off a 26-point effort by senior Littlepage, with half of those points coming on a perfect 13-of-13 shooting performance at the free throw line. West Georgia did a large portion of their damage at the stripe in fact, hitting 19 of 20 attempts from the line.
In contrast, Valdosta State hit just four of their 13 attempts from the free throw line, a statistic that overshadowed a solid 47.1 percent shooting effort from the field.
Madi Mitchell poured in 13 points in the contest on a 6-of-11 shooting display, while
Reshaundra Owens matched Mitchell with a perfect 5-of-5 effort from the field for 13 points.
Lydia Harvey added 12 points in the game, each of which were scored on three point shots.
In addition to Littlepage's strong day, Terriana Cave made a difference with 10 points, and A'Kia Harris reached double digit figures in the rebound column.
With the tough loss, Valdosta State's playoff hopes took a serious hit, as the Lady Blazers fell to 11-15 overall and 7-14 in GSC play. Meanwhile, West Georgia improved to 8-19 overall, with all of those eight wins coming in league action. As a result, the Wolves moved to 8-13 in conference play and took lone possession of eighth place in the GSC standings.
Valdosta State will compete next in a non-conference matchup against Albany State on Wednesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Valdosta, Ga. at The Complex.
