VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers picked up their second straight Gulf South Conference win with a 61-46 victory over Delta State on Sunday afternoon at The Complex.
With the win, VSU extended their perfect home record to 7-0 on the season and improved to 10-4 overall, 4-2 in league play. The Lady Statesmen of Delta State fell to 5-8 overall and fell below .500 at 3-4 against GSC opponents.
Valdosta State's success started with a stellar defensive effort that held Alondrea Rush, one of the conference's top 10 scorers, to just two points on 1-of-11 shooting from the field. Collectively, DSU was able to connect on just 2-of-13 attempts from the three point line, and the Lady Blazer defense held the Lady Statesmen to a 35.4 percent (17-of-48) shooting performance from the field.
Delta State took an early lead in the opening minutes of the contest, thanks to a pair of jumpers by Simone Jackson and Alexis Ross. Valdosta State used a pair of free throws from
Madi Mitchell and a three ball from Kenya Samone' Dixon, however, to reclaim a 5-4 lead within the first three minutes of the opening quarter.
Taylor Buie followed with a three-pointer, and
Kia Perry sank a shot from close range shortly after, and the Lady Blazers never looked back.
Valdosta State was led on offense by seniors Mitchell and Samone' Dixon, who teamed up to score 35 of VSU's 61 points. Samone' Dixon poured in 18 on 5-of-8 shooting and delivered her best three-point shooting performance of the season with a 4-of-5 effort. Samone' Dixon also hauled in 10 rebounds to pick up her ninth double-double of the season.
Mitchell, who scored her 1,000th career point last week at Shorter and was recognized in front of the home crowd prior to the men's game, connected on 5-of-11 from the field and shot 7-of-8 from the free throw line for a 17-point display.
Valdosta State put on a show from long distance, shooting 7-of-17 from beyond the arc for a 41.2 three point shooting percentage. Furthermore, VSU turned the ball over just 10 times in the game and buried 18-of-20 from the free throw line for 90.0 percent.
The Lady Blazers return to The Complex on Tuesday night for another Gulf South Conference matchup, as the Lady Choctaws of Mississippi College come to town. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 8:00 p.m.
