VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team went into Thursday night's critical Gulf South Conference matchup against Shorter two players down, but big performances by
Kenya Samone' Dixon and
Sonya Franklin helped the Lady Blazers defeat Shorter, 76-67.
The win secured hosting rights for the Lady Blazers in the first round of the GSC Tournament, which will take place on Saturday, February 28
th at The Complex., leading into the men's quarterfinal game later in the evening.
Valdosta State came out firing, particularly in the first half. Franklin, who nearly matched her career-high with 24 points on the night, shot 9-of-16 from the field. One of those field goals was a buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter from well beyond the arc, which accounted for three of her 16 first half points.
Meanwhile, Samone' Dixon remained scalding hot from the perimeter and boosted her league-leading three point field goal percentage to 41.6 percent after connecting on 4-of-8 from the three point line. The junior played all 40 minutes of the game, and her overall offensive efforts led to a game-high 27 points.
Combined, Samone' Dixon and Franklin posted 51 of VSU's 76 points in the game, and
Madi Mitchell added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, freshman
Brianna Johnson helped provide a much needed boost off the bench with several attacks on the rim and a couple of three pointers for a career high eight points on the night.
The Hawks buried over half of their field goals at 50.9 percent, but impressive long range shooting (8-of-18, 44.4 percent) and a stellar night at the free throw line (10-of-12, 83.3 percent).
Valdosta State improved to 18-9 on the season and 15-6 in GSC play, while the Hawks fell to 8-18 overall and 7-14 in conference play.
The Lady Blazers will host the final game of the regular season on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against the visiting Lee Flames. As mentioned, Valdosta State has secured hosting rights for the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. The matchup will tip at 6:00 p.m. on February 28th at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga.
