VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team fended off a furious fourth quarter rally from visiting West Florida in the 2020 opener for both teams Thursday evening.  VSU came out victorious with a 60-59 victory, but was outscored 14-5 during the final stanza as the Argos roared back from a ten-point deficit to tie the game with just over a minute left.
 
The Lady Blazers (11-2, 3-2 Gulf South Conference) never trailed in the contest and were led by 22 points from junior Kayla Bonilla as she was 8 of 16 from the field, draining three treys and went 3 of 4 from the line.  She had five rebounds with four assists as the lone Lady Blazer in double figures.
 
VSU shot 37.3 percent for the game on 19 of 51, but drained 10 of 21 triples and went 12 of 16 from the line.  The Lady Blazers fended off a number of rallies in the game and led by ten points heading into the fourth quarter. 
 
The Argos (4-9, 0-5 GSC) shot 25.7 percent, marking a season-low against VSU this season on 18 of 70, while UWF was 5 of 20 from range and 18 of 26 from the line.  The Argos dominated the glass, to the tune of 53-36 and 27-7 on the offensive end, but the shots wouldn't fall.  Danielle Norquest had a team-high 19 points and 16 rebounds for her nation-leading tenth double-double of the season, while Ashaunti Brown also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
UWF pulled within three twice in the third frame, but the Lady Blazers quickly answered with a 7-0 run for a 49-39 lead with 4:44 left in the third quarter.  Sophomore Kayla Frey, who finished with a team-high eight scored two free throws with three seconds left for the ten-point margin at 55-45.
 
One of two free throws from junior Germani Abram pushed the lead to 11 to begin the final frame, but Fanni Hulmi of West Florida had other ideas as she scored the next nine points for the Argos pulling UWF within 56-54 with 4:01 left.  Charlotte Ellmore tied the game at 56 with an 11-0 run moments later. Hulmi finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.  

Bonilla tallied two free throws with 2:09 left and then scored on a layup for a 60-58 lead with 53 seconds remaining for the only made field goal by VSU in the final frame as the team went 1 of 11 from the field for the quarter.  
 
UWF's Faithe Franklin made one of two free throws for a 60-59 VSU lead with 34 seconds left.  Bonilla missed a triple and Norquest missed a layup with three seconds left and UWF was unable to get another shot off as time expired. 
 
The Blazers raced out to a 24-14 lead in the first quarter and the teams scored the exact same points, 16 and 15, in the second and third quarters, before the big comeback by the Argos in the fourth.  VSU opened the game shooting 66.7 percent in the first quarter on 8 of 12 from the field and went 5 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first frame.  VSU was 13 of 26 from the field for the first half and 8 of 11 from beyond the arc. 
 
VSU returns to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at West Alabama as Spencer Van Horn will have the call of the game on 92.1 WDDQ FM.  Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.