JACKSON, Tenn. - After trailing by nine with fewer than two minutes to play in regulation, the Valdosta State Lady Blazers constructed a miraculous comeback to tie the game in regulation before claiming a 63-57 overtime win over the Lee Lady Flames in the second round of the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament on Saturday in Jackson, Tenn.

The Lady Blazers, who slid into the tournament as the No. 7 seed in the South Region, improved to 23-8 on the year and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2012. The Lady Flames saw their historic season come to an end at 24-8.

"I'm so proud of my team," said an emotional Head Coach Carley Kuhns after the game. "We were down big with less than two minutes to go, and I think the adversity we have faced this season prepared us for that moment. These girls believe in each other, and I think every person that took the floor for us made plays to help us win this game. As a coach, that's all you can ask for."

Valdosta State led by two at the start of the fourth quarter, but struggled to connect throughout most of the final frame. Despite a good shot selection in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, the Lady Blazers couldn't get shots to fall, and the Lady Flames used the opportunity to score 11 unanswered points for a 51-42 lead at the 2:58 mark.

The spread held for Lee until Taylor Buie finally broke the seal with a long three pointer from the right wing at the 1:48 mark to pull VSU back to within six. One possession later, Kenya Samone' Dixon secured one of her seven rebounds to keep an offensive possession alive for VSU, and freshman Kayla Bonilla made it count with a three of her own.

Trailing by three, the Lady Blazer defense got a key defensive stop with less than one minute left. On the ensuing possession, Bonilla elected to go inside to Madi Mitchell with a perfectly placed bounce pass, which allowed Mitchell to score from the right side and pull VSU to within one 51-50. Lee's Haley Cornellison misfired from the three point line on Lee's next possession, and with two seconds left, Mitchell drew a foul inside. The senior hit one of her two attempts to force Valdosta State's first overtime period of the 2017-18 season.

"Lee did a really good job of taking Madi away early on in the contest, but that allowed our other players to step up and make some plays," added Kuhns. "When we found shots elsewhere and started to draw the defense away from Madi a little bit, we were able to go back to her. The incredible pass to Madi from our freshman Kayla in the final minute, to me, was the play of the game. Madi didn't want to see her season end tonight, and she stepped up and made some huge plays at the end."

Mitchell scored 10 of VSU's 12 overtime points, three of which came from a monster three-point shot with 2:47 to play. The Lady Blazers never trailed again after Mitchell's three put VSU on top, and VSU outscored the Lady Flames by six to land the victory.

Lee's All-GSC guard, Erin Walsh, played all 44 minutes of the contest, but the Lady Blazer defense held the sharpshooter to just 13 points in the game. Valdosta State also outrebounded the Flames 37 to 28 and scored 19 points off of turnovers. Mitchell poured in 22 for the second straight night and just missed another double-double after pulling down nine rebounds. Buie, a senior for VSU, added 12, and Bonilla finished with 13 points and a team-high four steals.

The Lady Blazers will return to action on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. EST to compete for the South Region Championship. VSU will go to battle against the No. 1 ranked tournament hosts, the Union Bulldogs, on their home floor in Jackson, Tenn. Look for full coverage via links at www.vstateblazers.com. Also, don't miss the postgame press conference, available to view by clicking on the banner image at the top of the page.