ROME, Ga. – Behind three players in double figures, including 23 points from graduate student Kwajelin Farrar, the No. 15 Valdosta State women's basketball team posted a season-high 88-40 victory at Shorter in the first Gulf South Conference road game of the season Saturday afternoon.  Farrar finished with seven rebounds and was a season-best 11 of 13 from the field. 
 
Along with Farrar, freshman India Jordan had a career-high 17 points off the bench on 7 of 8 from the field with two treys and a free throw, while graduate student Mallory Odell finished with 13 points off the bench and also had seven rebounds.  
 
VSU (7-1, 2-0 GSC) shot a season-high 55.6 percent for the game on 35 of 63 from the floor, while going 6 of 16 from beyond the arc and 12 of 21 from the line.  VSU held a commanding 39-19 lead in rebounding.  
 
Shorter (1-4, 0-3 GSC) shot just 30.8 percent on 16 of 52 from the field, while it was 3 of 16 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the line.  Kelly Pickett had a team-high 11 points and Tiara Lewis added ten points for the Hawks.  VSU held a 52-24 lead in points in the paint and a 26-8 lead in points off turnovers.
 
VSU raced out to an 11-0 lead capped on a layup from graduate student Nicole Heyn with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter.  Pickett capped a 10-4 run with a trey with 1:59 left in the opening frame for a 15-10 VSU lead, but Odell scored inside and Jordan and fellow freshman Taylor Searcey combined for a steal and layup for a 19-10 lead late in the quarter.  SU's Jasmine Gaines scored the final bucket of the frame for a 19-12 VSU lead.
 
Heyn buried another trey for a 25-12 lead with 8:01 left in the half as VSU later extended the lead to 17 on a fast break layup from sophomore Tamiya Francis at 35-18.  Pickett then connected from range again for the Hawks and VSU settled for the 37-24 lead at intermission.  
 
The Lady Blazers turned up the pressure in the second half on both ends and shot a blistering 20 of 30 from the field for the final half, while holding SU to 6 of 27 in the second half from the floor.  VSU used a 24-12 third quarter and then scored 27 of 31 total points between the two teams in the fourth quarter for the 88-40 victory.    
 
The second half began with a 13-4 run for a 50-20 lead for the red and black, capped with a bucket in the paint from Farrar.  Overall through the first eight minutes of the second half, the VSU run grew to 22-6 for a 59-30 lead.  SU pulled within 61-36 at the end of the third quarter.  
 
Jordan hit a triple and scored inside for the final five points of the game and swelled the lead to 48 at 88-40 for the final margin.  The Lady Blazers held Shorter scoreless for the final 6:02 of the contest.
 
The Lady Blazers head to No. 20 Lee on Monday as the Flames were upset by West Florida, 76-72 on Saturday in Cleveland, Tenn.  Monday's contest is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.