PENSACOLA, Fla. - A late surge was the difference in the women's basketball Gulf South Conference opener, as West Florida overcame a third quarter deficit to take down Valdosta State 67-58 at The UWF Fieldhouse in Pensacola, Fla.

Valdosta State trailed for the entire first half before an Aaliyah Cheatham jumper in the final five seconds of the second quarter put the Lady Blazers on top 29-28. VSU extended their lead to six points with a Madi Mitchell layup at the 2:32 mark in the third quarter, but Belle Bistrow connected for her first three pointer of the game just 30 seconds later. Bistrow's three sparked a 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the third quarter, which bled into a 16-0 run for the Argonauts less than three minutes into the final frame.

The surge was too much for the Lady Blazers to overcome, which led UWF to the win and improved the Argonauts to 5-2 overall on the season and 1-0 in GSC play. The Lady Blazers, meanwhile, fell to 4-2 overall and saw their GSC schedule start at 0-1.

Mitchell led the way for the Lady Blazers with 19 points in the game, and Kenya Samone' Dixon finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year.

Valdosta State forced UWF's leading scorer Halee Nieman to the bench in the third quarter with foul trouble, but Shami Goodman picked up the slack for West Florida with nine field goals and nine free throws en route to 30 points. The total doubled Goodman's previous season high of 15, which she scored against Fort Valley State on November 11th.

Next up for the Lady Blazers, it's a trip to Tampa, Fla., where VSU will square off against the Spartans at 5:30 p.m. Live coverage of the contest can be found right here at www.vstateblazers.com.