VALDOSTA, Ga. – A fast start once again spurred the Valdosta State women's basketball team to a 73-44 victory over visiting Mississippi College Sunday afternoon at The Complex.  VSU opened the game with a 23-9 first quarter en route to the victory.  VSU had four players in double figures led by a career-high 16 points from junior Victoria Ikenasio.  
 
Ikenasio went 7 of 15 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 23 minutes of action.  Junior Taylor Searcey finished with 12 points and four rebounds, along with five assists and two steals, while senior Emma Martin added 10 points, as did senior Aleisha Curry.  The Lady Blazers were clicking on all cylinders in the first half, going 17 of 31 from the field for the half, but struggled a bit in the second half, shooting 46.3 percent for the game on 25 of 54 from the field.  VSU knocked down seven triples and went 16 of 19 from the line.  
 
VSU (6-2, 3-1 GSC) held MC (2-5, 1-3 GSC) to 13 of 52 from the field for 25 percent, while the Choctaws were 4 of 11 from beyond the arc and 14 of 18 from the line. VSU held a 30-28 lead in rebounding, but scored 17 points off 14 turnovers by MC as VSU had just nine miscues in the game and MC scored four points off the turnovers.  MC's Brett Gardner was the lone Choctaw in double figures with 11 points.
 
Gardner buried a triple for a 5-4 lead with 8:24 left in the first quarter and Lady Blazer senior Lili Long responded with one of her own at the other end, sparking a 9-0 run capped with a triple from senior Emma Martin and a timeout by the Choctaws with 6:02 left in the first.  Ikenasio extended the run to 12-0 with a hoop-and-harm with 3:11 left in the frame and a 17-5 lead.  MC stopped the bleeding on a bucket inside from DeKeria Walls with 2:40 to play in the quarter and just the second made field goal of the game for the Choctaws (2-10).  VSU's defensive pressure on the Choctaws forced a shot clock violation and junior Tyasia Reed buried a triple at the other end for a 21-7 lead with less than a minute left.  After a bucket from MC, Lady Blazer Searcey found Curry for two at the buzzer and a 23-9 lead through ten minutes.
 
The Lady Blazers opened the game 8 of 14 from the field, while MC was just 3 of 14.  VSU was 3 of 6 from downtown, while MC was 1 of 2.  The Lady Blazers made five trips to the line in the opening frame, making four while the Choctaws were 2 of 4 from the stripe.  VSU held an 8-0 lead in points off turnovers, forcing MC into three first quarter miscues, while VSU had two turnovers.
 
Reed hit Martin at the top of the key for a longball and a 28-11 lead with 8:30 left in the first half.  It was Martin's second trey of the game.  Following a turnover by the Choctaws, Long found Martin for a pullup jumper in the paint on the fast break for a 30-13 score.    An offensive foul on the Choctaws led to a nice dish from Searcey to Reed for a 32-16 score and 5:30 left the half. Searcey then picked Keller Bigham's pocket and Curry earned the "and one" for a 35-16 lead seconds later for the largest lead of the game to that point.  Searcey scored inside for a 40-19 lead and then Ikenasio scored for a 42-21 lead off Searcey's fourth dime of the game with less than two minutes to play in the half.  Ikenasio continued a strong half with a bucket in the lane for her 11^th point of the game and a 44-21 lead with under a minute to play.  VSU held a 44-23 lead at the break as junior Courtney Stothard's triple at the buzzer just rimmed out.  
 
For the half, VSU shot 54.8 percent from the field on 17 of 31, while it was 5 of 13 from distance and 5 of 6 from the line.  The Lady Blazers held a 17-11 lead in rebounding and forced MC into seven turnovers and a 15-0 lead in points off turnovers as VSU had just four miscues for the half.  MC shot 8 of 24 from the field for 33 percent, while it was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 4 of 6 from the line.  Ikenasio had a game-high 11 points on 5 of 7 from the field and 1 of 1 from the line, while Martin had eight points with two 3's.  
 
Both teams struggled out of the gate in the second half as the teams began 0 of 6 combined for the field in the second half through the first two minutes and the fouls started to mount for both teams.  Ikensasio scored inside for the first points of the half for either team and a 46-23 lead with 7:30 to play in the frame.  Gardner was fouled in the lane making two free throws for the first two points of the half for the Choctaws as the teams were a combined 1 of 12 from the field for the half with 5:22 to play in the third.  Reed scored the second field goal of the half for VSU and a 48-25 score with 4:53 left in the quarter.  Gardner then scored inside for the first field goal of the half for MC and a 48-27 VSU lead with 4:22 remaining in the frame.  Searcey scored the old fashion three-point play for a 51-29 VSU lead late in the quarter.  Long drained one from the corner pocket from Martin for a 54-29 score and a turnover from Reed led to two free throws from Searcey extending the lead to 56-29 and 12-6 for the frame.  Martin scored her tenth point and a 58-29 lead with VSU scoring 14 of the first 20 points of the third quarter and 1:09 to play in the frame.  VSU held a 58-31 lead through three frames as VSU was 5 of 12 from the field for the quarter, while MC was 2 of 19.  
 
VSU scored 15 points in the fourth quarter for the 29-point victory.  VSU improved to 24-12 all-time in the series against MC.  The Lady Blazers have won eight of the last 11 and are 13-5 all-time against MC in Valdosta.  
 
VSU went on for the victory and will now head on the road for three games prior to the Christmas break.  The Lady Blazers will be back in Valdosta to open the 2024 portion of the schedule on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m., versus West Florida.