VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind double-doubles from graduate student Kwajelin Farrar and freshman Taylor Searcey, the No. 15 Valdosta State women's basketball team defeated Montevallo 77-68 Saturday afternoon.  VSU improved to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while Montevallo fell to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in league play.
 
Farrar and Searcey combined for 36 points and 21 rebounds in the game for the Lady Blazers as Farrar was 8 of 12 from the field with ten rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.  Searey was 6 of 8 from the field with four free throws and a team-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.  Sophomore Lili Long finished with 15 points, while graduate student Delaney Bernard added ten points.
 
VSU shot 27 of 56 from the field for the game for 48.2 percent, while it was 6 of 22 from beyond the arc and went 17 of 29 from the line.  VSU held a 43-39 lead in rebounding in a game that saw one tie and one lead change.
 
The Falcons were led by a game-high 21 points from Marisa Snodgrass as she was a perfect 8 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from beyond the arc.  Jordan Jones added 17 points and Jennifer Andrew chipped in ten points.  As a team, the Falcons shot 27 of 68 from the field for 39.7 percent, while UM went 10 of 25 from beyond the arc and 4 of 9 from the line. 
 
Montevallo jumped out to an early 7-2 lead capped on a jumper from Shyan Flack with 7:45 left in the first quarter.   Later in the quarter, Searcey hit a jumper off a turnover for a 9-7 deficit.  Sophomore Kendall Bollmer buried a triple and then graduate student Mallory Odell hit two free throws to tie the game at 12 with 1:17 left in the quarter.  A big offensive rebound and put back from Farrar gave VSU the lead for good at 14-13 with 38 seconds left in the quarter. 
 
The second quarter proved to be the difference in the game as VSU outscored UM 28-18 for the first for a 42-31 lead at the break.  VSU shot a blistering 12 of 17 from the field in the quarter.  The third quarter saw Montevallo cut into the deficit for a 24-21 frame and a 63-55 VSU lead heading to the final stanza. 
 
Searcey pushed the lead to ten with opening bucket of the fourth, but UM cut the deficit to 65-63 with an 8-0 run capped with a jumper from Andrew with 6:48 left.   A big triple from Long pushed the lead to 68-63 with 5:26 left opening a 6-0 run as Searcey finished the spurt with two free throws for a 71-63 lead with 3:25 left.  Long then hit a jumper for a 75-65 lead with 1:58 left and the Lady Blazers settled for the 77-68 victory.

VSU returns to action Monday at 6 p.m. versus Auburn Montgomery at The Complex.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and audio/video streaming.