CARROLLTON, Ga. - The Valdosta State women's basketball team stayed on their hot streak with a 70-67 Gulf South Conference win over the Lady Wolves of West Georgia Thursday night in Carrollton, Ga.
Despite four Lady Wolves scoring in double digits, VSU was able to control the pace and hold West Georgia at arm's length throughout a majority of the game. VSU's largest lead came in the third quarter, where the Lady Blazer extended their lead to as many as 17 points. West Georgia showed resiliency down the stretch, however, and whittled away at Valdosta State's lead with five third quarter three pointers.
As West Georgia trimmed the Lady Blazers' lead down the stretch, Valdosta State claimed what was arguably their biggest possession of the game at the 6:08 mark in the fourth quarter. After UWG pulled to within four at 64-60, Kenya Samone' Dixon was fouled on a close range shot. Dixon hit the first and missed the second, and Jazmyn McIntosh helped secure an offensive rebound to give the Lady Blazers a chance to add more. Madi Mitchell capitalized on the opportunity with a layup, and added another point after she was fouled while making the shot. Mitchell's free throw turned the possession into a four-point play, which represented half of the Lady Blazers' fourth quarter points and gave VSU just enough to survive their scoring drought down the stretch.
Dixon capped off her 13th double-double of the season in the matchup. The senior displayed a dominant first half, putting up 13 points on a 5-for-7 effort overall and a 3-of-4 three point performance before intermission. Dixon ended the night with a team0-high 18 points, complemented by 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
From the line, VSU shot an even 70% (19-27) to capitalize on the 17 fouls committed by the Lady Wolves. Mitchell saw the line 11 times and put away 8 for the Lady Blazers. The senior ended the night with another double-digit performance of 12 points, and she pulled down 6 rebounds.
Crystal Townsend has been a source of firepower on offense as of late for VSU, and she racked up 10 points, including two three pointers, in the contest. Forward Maddy Corazza also had a career-best performance tonight where she tallied 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to cap off the victory.
With the win, the Lady Blazers improved to 17-7 on the season and 11-5 in GSC action, while West Georgia drops to 13-10, 9-7 in conference play. With Lee's loss to Union on Thursday, VSU is now knotted up with Lee in a tie for third place in the conference standings.
The Lady Blazers return to action on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, Ala. with a 3:00 p.m. EST matchup against Auburn-Montgomery.
