VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazer basketball team picked up what could arguably be their biggest win of the 2017-18 season, after holding off the Lady Flames of Lee for a 67-62 Gulf South Conference victory on Saturday afternoon in Titletown, USA.

Seniors Kenya Samone' Dixon, Madi Mitchell, and Taylor Buie were the stars of the night, as the trio teamed up for 54 of VSU's 67 points. Mitchell just missed a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Samone' Dixon reached the mark with 19 points and 12 rebounds of her own. Buie added 13, while adding three assists and one steal.

"I am incredibly proud of our toughness and togetherness today," said Head Coach Carley Kuhns after the win. "I thought we came out focused and ready to play, and we were led by three seniors who were on a mission."

In front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 Blazer faithful, the Lady Blazers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, thanks to a layup by Jazmyn McIntosh and a three pointer by Mitchell in the first two minutes of the opening quarter. Valdosta State extended the lead to 10 by the end of the first, and the Lady Blazers never trailed again for the rest of the night.

"We are so thankful for the opportunity to play in front of such an awesome, energetic crowd," added Kuhns. "The support the crowd showed us tonight was incredible, and we couldn't ask for a more exciting environment for our team to play in."

The Lady Blazer defense delivered an incredible effort throughout the contest, holding Lee, who entered the game as the GSC's third ranked team, to a 35.9 shooting percentage from the field. In contrast, Valdosta State's offense connected on 46.9 percent of their shots and hit 6-of-11 from long distance for a 54.5 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

Lee whittled Valdosta State's lead down to just three points with less than two minutes to play, but the Lady Blazers used good free throw shooting, timely buckets, and a crowd-pleasing block by McIntosh in the closing seconds to hold on and secure the big victory.

Valdosta State improved to 16-7 overall and 10-5 in league play after the win. More importantly, VSU moved into fourth place in the conference standings and pulled to within just one game of the third place Flames, who are now 18-5 overall and 11-4 in the GSC.

Moving forward, the Lady Blazers, who remained perfect at The Complex this season with Saturday's win, will continue to try and secure one of the top four seeds in the league standings during the regular season. If the team can accomplish that goal, Valdosta State will earn the right to host in the first round of the GSC Tournament, which will take place on February 27th.

The Lady Blazers return to action on the road next week for a pair of games against West Georgia and Auburn-Montgomery. Both games will feature live coverage, which can be accessed via live links available right here at www.vstateblazers.com.