FLORENCE, Ala.- The Valdosta State women's basketball team fought hard for 40 minutes, but cold shooting proved to be costly, as the Lions of North Alabama defeated the Lady Blazers 70-52 in a Gulf South Conference contest on Saturday afternoon in Florence, Ala.
The Lions raced out to an early lead, as they secured an eight point edge by the end of the first quarter to make it a 14-22 game. The Lady Blazers struggled to find a solution for Keke Gunter, who tallied 12 of North Alabama's first quarter points, six of which came on a pair of three pointers.
The Lady Lions continued to cruise in the second on the back of Gunter, who knocked down a jumper at the 5:59 mark to give UNA a 12-point cushion. The Lady Blazers fought back late in the period, as
Madi Mitchell drained two free-throws and
Sonya Franklin added a layup during the final seconds to cut the deficit to seven at the half.
In the first half, VSU went 11-for-30 from the field for a 36.67 shooting percentage. In addition, the Lady Blazers connected just once on six three point attempts and went 6-for-10 at the stripe. Meanwhile, the Lady Lions capitalized on the opportunity with a 14-for-30 effort from the field, a 33.3 percent performance (3-for-9) from behind the arc, and a 5-for-7 effort at the line.
Facing a 36-29 deficit, the Lady Blazers used a
Kenya Samone' Dixon three ball to cut the Lions' lead to four in the opening moments of the second half, and Mitchell quickly chopped the Lions lead to two with a layup at the 4:23 mark. North Alabama turned VSU away, however, and used a three ball by Gunter to produce a run that opened the Lions' lead back up to nine by the end of the third period.
Valdosta State tallied the first four points of the fourth quarter with baskets by Samone' Dixon and Mitchell to pull to within five. But North Alabama used a decisive stretch during the ensuing minutes to outscore VSU by 11 and put the game out of reach.
For VSU, Samone' Dixon led the Lady Blazers with 15 points and Mitchell added 14 points. Meanwhile, UNA's Gunter racked up a game-high 29 points.
With the loss, the Lady Blazers saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 17-9 on the season and 14-6 in GSC play. The Lions advanced to 18-8 overall and 12-8 in conference play.
Up next, Valdosta State will return home where they will face the Hawks of Shorter in another GSC matchup. The game is scheduled to start on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in Valdosta, Ga.
