VALDOSTA, Ga. - Another home game led to another win for the Valdosta State women's basketball team, and this time, it came over a nationally ranked team. The Lady Blazers used one of their most focused efforts of the season to overcome the odds and pull off a 72-61 win over the No. 16 ranked North Alabama Lions on Saturday in Valdosta, Ga. at The Complex.

"I'm just so proud of our kids tonight. We played tough for 40 minutes even after being another man down," said Head Coach Carley Kuhns after scoring the win, despite the absence of Crystal Townsend, who was unable to play on Saturday due to illness. "Defensively, I thought we did a really good job with our game plan. We had different players step up today and guard some of the best players in the conference, and I thought we really kept our composure in the second half."

In front of the most raucous Blazer crowd in recent memory, Kuhns did a masterful job of weaving just seven available players in and out of a rivalry matchup that served as one of the most intense battles of the 2017-18 season. Seniors Madi Mitchell and Taylor Buie both gutted out 40 minutes of action, while Kenya Samone' Dixon sat for just one minute on the night.

In addition to the staple 18-point performance of Mitchell, to which Blazer Nation has grown so accustomed, Valdosta State's biggest boost came from a pair of unlikely heroines. Freshman Kayla Bonilla delivered 17 points on a perfect 4-of-4 night from the field, while adding 8-for-11 at the free throw line. Furthermore, Jazmyn McIntosh tallied double digits in the scoring column for the first time in her career with a total of 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds.

The Lions knotted the game up at 50-50 just inside the start of the fourth quarter, but Bonilla answered with a three-point play on the opposite end, which sparked a 24-point surge in the final quarter and helped VSU run away with the massive win.

Coach Kuhns continuously referred to the team effort of her squad on Saturday, which also included contributions from Maddy Corazza, who pulled in three rebounds and gave the Blazers six points off the bench. Even with just nine minutes of action, Bria Clemmons single-handedly thwarted North Alabama's push for momentum at the end of the first half with a buzzer beating three from the left corner.

"I'm not convinced that we played our best offensively," added Kuhns, "But we found ways to extend our lead late, and every time they tried to make a run, different people stepped up to prevent them from doing so. This was a full team effort, and I am just really really proud of my team."

Valdosta State improved to 20-7 on the year with the victory and lifted their GSC record to 14-5. The Lady Blazers have now won six straight and remain undefeated at 13-0 on their home floor at The Complex. The Lions suffered just their third loss of the season and fell to 23-3 overall, 16-3 against league opponents.

The Lady Blazers will compete for a third place seeding on Thursday night, February 22nd, when the West Florida Argonauts come to town for the final regular season game of the 2017-18 season. The game, which will tip at 6:00 p.m. at The Complex, has been selected as the NCAA Division II Showcase Game of the Week and will be aired live on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app. Direct links for access will be available at www.vstateblazers.com.

In addition, both the Lady Blazers and the Blazers have secured hosting rights for the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Opponents are yet to be determined, but the games will take at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27th. The event has been dubbed "Super Tuesday" by the Gulf South Conference and will mark the second consecutive year in which both the Lady Blazers and Blazers will host the opening round quarterfinal matchup.