VALDOSTA, Ga. – In the long-awaited return to playing collegiate sports, the Valdosta State women's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season with a thrilling 82-69 victory over West Georgia Saturday afternoon at The Complex. Behind four players in double figures and a double-double from senior newcomer
Kwajelin Farrar, the Lady Blazers roared back from a ten-point halftime deficit, outscoring UWG 49-26 in the second half.
Farrar made her Blazer debut in style, going 11 of 13 from the field, while pulling down 11 rebounds with three assists, one block and two steals. Senior
Kayla Bonilla added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while sophomore newcomer
Jirah Ards had 11 points and nine rebounds in her first game, along with three assists and four steals. True freshman
Alexandria Smith chipped in 11 points off the bench in her first collegiate game.
VSU, who struggled out of the gates early, found its stride with a big third quarter, outscoring UWG 34-12 for the frame and went a blistering 13 of 22 from the field, while draining four treys in the quarter and 4 of 5 from the line. The defense held UWG to a game-low 4 of 16 from the field in the third quarter and 0 of 5 from beyond the arc for the frame.
Out of the intermission, Farrar cut the deficit to 43-35 with 9:20 left on a layup off her own offensive rebound as VSU had two key offensive boards on the possession. The Blazers held a 15-9 lead in offensive rebounds for the game and a 19-9 advantage in second chance points. Bonilla then buried a triple for a 43-38 deficit. UWG pushed the lead to seven at 45-38 with 8:11 left in the frame, but the Lady Blazers used a 10-0 run for a 48-47 lead on the "and one" from Farrar with 6:21 left in the quarter. Through the first six minutes of the third quarter, VSU outscored the Wolves 23-6, capped with a pair of charity tosses from Bonilla and a 56-49 score.
Late in the frame, junior
Kayla Frey buried her lone trey of the game with one second left for a 67-55 lead through three quarters. VSU built the lead to as many as 18 in the fourth quarter with 4:10 to play and settled for the 13-point victory.
Farrar was named the
Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game in her debut. Each game this season, a Blazer will be named the Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game.
The Blazers shot 30 of 73 from the field for the game for 41.1 percent, while draining 11 from deep on 34 attempts and were 11 of 15 from the line. VSU pulled down 45 rebounds in the game, while recording 21 assists to just 12 miscues with six blocks and 12 steals.
UWG (1-1, 1-1 GSC) was led by 15 points from Siera Carter leading three players in double figures. Lanee Edwards added 12 points and Taylor Brown chipped in 11 points. The Wolves shot 40.7 percent for the game on 24 of 59, while going 10 of 25 from range and 11 of 18 from the line. UWG had 40 rebounds with 14 assists, 17 turnovers, four blocks and seven steals. VSU held a 25-8 lead in points off turnovers for the game.
The Wolves came out of the gates on fire, draining five of eight treys in the first quarter and built a 12-5 lead on a pair of tosses from Mariah Holder with 5:17 left in the frame. VSU used a 5-0 run to tie the game at 12, but a trey from Edwards put the Wolves back in front. Farrar gave VSU its first lead of the game at 16-15 with 3:21 left. UWG scored the final five points of the frame for a 20-18 lead.
Holder scored on the break for a 35-26 lead with 4:32 left in the half and Morgan Perkins pushed the UWG lead to 37-26 with a jumper with 3:58 left for the largest lead of the game for the Wolves. A 5-0 run by the Blazers cut the deficit to 37-31, but UWG quickly pushed the lead back to ten at 43-33 at intermission.
The Blazers head to Montevallo for a Wednesday evening game, before returning home to close out the 2020 portion of the schedule Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. at The Complex versus Lee.
