VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team earned a return trip to the Gulf South Conference Championship for the first time since 2005, after a 64-61 victory over the Lee Lady Flames on Saturday in the semifinal round of the GSC Tournament at Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala.
 
"It's good to be back in the championship game," said Head Coach Carley Kuhns, who was a freshman guard on the squad that lost the GSC Championship game in a narrow loss back in 2005. "I'm so proud of these girls. I'm glad they get to enjoy this moment in the middle of a great atmosphere here tonight. We had a lot of fans come from Valdosta and the band was here to cheer us on. It felt like a home atmosphere in this arena tonight, and we appreciate that support."
 
Valdosta State used another strong defensive effort to hold the Lady Flames to just 22 points in the first half, while the Lady Blazers countered with 28 first half points.
 
Following the break, Kenya Samone' Dixon caught fire from long distance, burying all three of her three-point attempts to help the Blazers open up a 49-37 advantage by the end of the frame.
 
The stretch proved to be a critical one for the Lady Blazers, as Lee outscored the Lady Blazers 24-15 in the fourth and final quarter to pull to within three.
 
The Lady Flames trimmed the deficit to as few as two points two different times within the final two minutes. Valdosta State never relinquished their lead, however, and a critical jumper by Sonya Franklin in the paint with just 14 seconds to play sealed the game for the Lady Blazers.
 
"We've won 11 of our last 12, and we've done it on the defensive end," added Kuhns. "Before the game, we talked about how basketball is a game of runs, and we knew that they would make another run late. Lee is too good of a basketball team not to. Luckily, down the stretch, we had some players make some big shots, and our defense got some big stops when we needed them."
 
Both Dixon and Madi Mitchell secured double-double efforts in the contest, while Sonya Franklin led the way on offense with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 shooting from the three point line, and a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line.

Sunday's championship matchup marks VSU's seventh all-time appearance in the GSC Final, and the team will be competing for their third-ever GSC Championship victory, the last of which came in a 71-70 win over North Alabama in 1984.
 
The Lady Blazers will tip off at 1:30 p.m. EST at Pete Hanna Center against the West Florida Argonauts, with the Blazers competing in the men's championship contest later in the day at 4:30 p.m. Sunday will mark the first time that both the men and women will compete in the championship game since both teams went for the GSC Championship in 1983.
 
Look for live coverage of the entire day at www.vstateblazers.com.