VALDOSTA, Ga.-The Valdosta State women's basketball team avenged a recent loss to Mississippi College with a 53–43 Gulf South Conference win over the Lady Choctaws on Thursday night in Clinton, Miss.

With the victory, the Lady Blazers improved their overall record to 13-8 and 10-5 in conference action. The win also moved VSU into second place with the help of a North Alabama loss to Lee. Meanwhile, the Lady Choctaws dropped to 10-8 on the season and 7-7 against league opponents.

Mississippi College started off strong as they pressured the red and black's attack with a zone defense. For the Lady Choctaws, Kelley Allen proved to be a threat early, as she led the Lady Choctaws with nine first-half points. However, Sonya Franklin helped VSU retaliate with ten points that contributed to a 25-19, halftime lead for the Lady Blazers.

Valdosta State struggled to find consistency in the first half, shooting 8-for-27 from the field for a 29.6 shooting percentage, compared to the Lady Choctaws 9-for-31, 29.0 percent shooting average. The Lady Blazers' 8-of-8 from the free throw line helped sway the advantage in favor of VSU at intermission.

Kenya Samone' Dixon opened the second half with a bang, as she knocked down an early three-pointer to give the Lady Blazers a nine point edge at the 9:40 mark. Mississippi College fired back quickly, however, with seven unanswered points, before Samone' Dixon connected again from long range to give VSU a five-point lead at 31-26. Valdosta State's advantage held in place for the remainder of the third quarter, before Maddy Corazza snuck in a basket with five seconds remaining on the clock to give VSU a 40-32 lead before going into the fourth and final quarter.

Aaliyah Cheatham started things off with a three in the fourth to extend the Lady Blazers lead to 11, and one final push by the Lady Choctaws late in the quarter came up short. The Lady Choctaws closed the lead to six at the 2:52 mark, but VSU used free throws down the stretch to pull away.

For VSU, Franklin led with 18 points as she went 6-for-12 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line. Cheatham and Mitchell each added 12 points. Meanwhile, Samone' Dixon grabbed a team high of 11 boards, ten of which were defensive.

Up next, the Lady Blazers will remain on the road as they will face the Lady Statesmen of Delta State on Saturday for another GSC showdown. Tip time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Cleveland, MS.