BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion Monday evening the Elite Eight quarterfinal round, 58-55 to Western Washington as the game came down to the final seconds.
 
WWU's Riley Dykstra hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left giving the Vikings a 57-53 lead.  Two free throws from VSU freshman Taylor Searcey buried two free throws for a 57-55 deficit.  VSU then got a big defensive rebound from graduate student Kwajelin Farrar with nine seconds left.  Out of a timeout, Searcey was called for a travel, but it looked like she was hacked before the travel was called, but to no avail for the Lady Blazers.  Dykstra made one of two free throws for a 58-55 lead with four seconds left.  A long in bounds play was not converted by the Lady Blazers at the buzzer. 
 
The Lady Blazers finish an outstanding season with a 26-6 record overall and qualified for their first Elite Eight since 1984, and the 26 victories matched the most wins in a season since the 2007-08 season.  VSU won a school-best 17 Gulf South Conference games this season with a 17-2 record.   VSU finished Monday's game with a game-high 18 points from graduate student Nicole Heyn in her final game as a Lady Blazer.  She went 7 of 11 from the field, 2 of 3 from range and 2 of 2 from the line, while recording a team-high seven rebounds.  Searcey came off the bench for 14 points on 4 of 10 from the field and 6 of 6 from the line.  Sophomore Tamiya Francis finished with nine points, while graduate student Kwajelin Farrar ended with eight points.  VSU finished the game shooting 17 of 50 from the floor for 34 percent, while it was 3 of 13 from beyond the arc and 18 of 19 from the line.   
 
WWU improved to 24-5 and moved on to the semifinals where it will face North Georgia on Wednesday evening.  The Vikings were led by 14 points from Brooke Walling on 7 of 13 from the field, along with 11 rebounds leading four players in double figures.  Mollie Olson added 11 points, including 3 of 4 from deep.  Dykstra added ten points as did Emma Duff.  As a team, WWU shot 42.6 percent from the field on 23 of 54, while it was 6 of 18 from deep and 6 of 12 from the line.
 
VSU struggled on the glass as it was out-rebounded 39-26 and the Lady Blazers missed a number of good looks they normally convert.  WWU held a 34-18 lead in points in the paint, partially due to both Farrar and graduate student Mallory Odell being in foul trouble.  VSU held a 22-17 lead in turnovers, but trailed 14-13 in points off turnovers.  The game saw eight ties and three lead changes
 
VSU raced out to an early 13-1 lead courtesy of a hoop and harm for Farrar gave VSU an early 8-0 lead with 7:37 left in the first quarter as the defensive pressure by the Lady Blazers stymied the Vikings early.  Two free throws from Francis pushed the early lead to 10-1 with six minutes left in the quarter.  A triple from Heyn forced WWU into a timeout and a 13-1 VSU lead with 4:51 left in the frame as the Lady Blazers began the quarter 4 of 7 from the field, 2 of 3 from range and 3 of 3 from the line, while WWU opened 0 of 4 from the field. 
 
A bucket from Dykstra and a triple from Olson pulled WWU within 15-6 and a hoop and harp pulled WWU within 15-8 with 2:27 left in the quarter.  An offensive foul on VSU and a bucket from WWU cut the VSU lead to 17-12 with just over a minute left in the quarter.  VSU held a 19-12 lead through the first quarter.
 
Two quick buckets from WWU cut the deficit to 19-16 early in the second quarter.  Since VSU began the game with a 13-1 run, WWU then went on a 15-6 spurt.  Heyn buried a jumper from the free throw line for a 21-16 lead.  After another offensive foul negating a bucket for VSU, Olson hit a trey for the Vikings for a 23-20 VSU lead with 5:30 left in the first half.   Another triple for the Vikings tied the game at 23, but Francis scored inside at the other end for a 25-23 score and four minutes left in the half.  Both Odell and Farrar each had three fouls early. 
 
Two quick buckets inside from Walling tied the game, once again, at 27, but Heyn found easy sledding inside for a 29-27 lead and 2:11 left in the half.  A block and a layup in transition gave WWU its first lead of the game at 31-29 with 1:20 remaining in the half.  Odell hit a bucket in the paint to tie it at 31 with less than a minute remaining.  Walling scored inside for a 33-31 WWU lead at intermission. 
 
For the half, VSU shot 11 of 26 from the field for 42 percent, while it was 2 of 6 from deep and 7 of 7 from the line.  Heyn led the team with ten points on 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 2 from deep with three rebounds.  Farrar, who had the three early fouls, had five points on 2 of 3 from the field and 1 of 1 from the line.   VSU opened the game 6 of 12 from the field, but went just 5 of 14 from the field in the second quarter and 0 of 3 from deep.
 
WWU shot 13 of 25 from the field as it caught fire after the slow start, while the Vikings were 3 of 10 from range and 4 of 7 from the line.  WWU opened 4 of 10 from the field for the first quarter, but went 9 of 15 from the field and 2 of 4 from deep in the second quarter as it outscored VSU 21-12 for the second frame.  Walling had eight points for WWU in the first half.
 
The Vikings held a 17-10 lead in rebounding and a 13-8 advantage in points off turnovers, while VSU led 9-3 in second chance points. 
 
Heyn scored the first six points of the second half as VSU regained the lead at 35-33 and Farrar scored inside for a 37-33 lead and 7:19 left in the quarter.  Searcey hit two free throws for a 39-35 lead and an 8-2 run to the start the second half for the red and black with 3:11 remaining in the frame.  Six quick points from WWU tied the game at 41 with 2:03 remaining in the quarter.  Francis broke the tie with two free throws and a 43-41 lead.  Olson answered with her third trey of the game for a 44-43 WWU through three frames.
 
Farrar picked up her fourth foul and WWU scored inside for a 46-43 lead and 8:30 left in regulation.  Searcey then pulled VSU within 46-45 after taking a charge at the other end.  Later, Heyn tied the game at 48 with 6:15 remaining in the back-and-forth game.  WWU's Emma Duff scored inside breaking the tie and a timeout by VSU with 5:23 left and the Lady Blazers trailing 50-48. 
 
Walling scored her 14^th point of the game for a 54-50 lead and four minutes left.  Searcey scored inside off a miscue by the Vikings for a 54-52 deficit and 2:25 left. 
 
Despite the loss, the Lady Blazers finish the outstanding season with Farrar, graduate student Delaney Bernard, Heyn and Odell capping outstanding careers for the red and black.  Farrar finished her two seasons in Titletown with 786 points at VSU and 2,080 career points between her time at USC Aiken and VSU.  She played in 139 career games and pulled down for 1,358 career rebounds for a 9.77 average and a 15.0 scoring average.  Farrar earned First Team All-Gulf South Conference honors this season, first team all-region honors and Most Valuable Player for the NCAA South Region.  Last season, she was named GSC East Division Player of the Year and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) First Team All-America. 
 
Heyn came to Valdosta following a standout career at Texas A&M-International.  This season, she earned first team all-conference honors and first team all-region accolades as she finished playing in 29 games, scoring 394 points and going 125 of 281 from the field and 57 of 132 from deep. Bernard capped a great three-year career at VSU and two at Saint Leo.  For her career, she finished playing in 140 games, scoring 912 points with 207 triples made and 321 total field goals made.  This season she played and started all 32 games scoring 224 points, going 77 of 200 from the field and 57 of 154 from deep.  Odell came to VSU this season after a career at Longwood University (Va.) and she played in 32 games, scoring 191 points with 69 made field goals and went 50 of 69 from the line, while averaging 4.4 rebounds per game.