VALDOSTA, Ga. – With all of the ingredients of March Madness, but just a day earlier, the Valdosta State women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes and then some for a thrilling 71-66 victory over Montevallo in the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament Tuesday evening at The Complex.
 
VSU advances to face top-seeded Lee on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m. ET at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.  Click here for the GSC Women's Basketball Championship webpage with how to purchase tickets and more.  Check back with vstateblazers.com later in the week for a preview on the semifinals and links for streaming through FloSports and for audio of the game with Mike Chason having the call.  
 
Tuesday marked the first overtime game for the Lady Blazers since a 63-60 loss to Lander in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Mar 13, 2021.   VSU improved to 25-28 all-time in the Gulf South Conference Tournament and the 19^th trip to the GSC Semifinals.  
 
The Lady Blazers (22-5) trailed by as many as six points in the first half in a game that had nine ties and eight lead changes throughout.  Four different Lady Blazers were in double figures led by a game-high 18 points from senior Jirah Ards, who went 7 of 10 from the field, 1 of 3 from distance and 3 of 5 from the line, while pulling down four rebounds and registering three steals to earn Guardian Bank Lady Blazer Player of the Game honors.  Junior Tamiya Francis and sophomore Kate Tanner each added 16 points, while junior Aleisha Curry had 11 points off the bench.  Tanner just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.  
 
On a tough shooting night, especially from downtown, the Lady Blazers shot 25 of 60 from the floor (41.7%), while they were just 3 of 19 from distance and 18 of 28 from the line.  VSU used strong defense and forced 17 turnovers by the Falcons for a 13-7 lead in points off turnovers.  The Lady Blazers tied their season-high with five blocks, but none were bigger than junior Emma Martin's rejection of Marisa Snodgrass at the buzzer in regulation.   
 
The Falcons (12-17) used a layup from Shyan Flack for a 54-51 with 4:46 to play in regulation.  Ards answered with a huge "and one" for a 54-54 score.  Flack finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in the game.  UM's McCarley Northway put the Falcons back in front 56-54 with 2:42 left, but Ards again answered at the other end.  Two free throws by Martin gave VSU a 58-56 lead with 1:22 to go, but a triple from Michaella Edwards put the Falcons back up 59-58 with 1:15 to go.  UM began the game 8 of 16 from beyond the arc in the first half, but went just 2 of 13 in the second half and 0 of 3 in overtime from distance.  
 
After a missed 3-pointer from Martin, Ards came away with a huge offensive rebound and was fouled with 24 seconds left, making one of two free throws for a 59-59 score.  With one last possession for the win, UM drained the clock and Snodgrass' floater in the lane was blocked by Martin just before the buzzer sending the game to overtime.
 
In the extra session, both teams struggled a bit from the line as VSU was 2 for 4 to start the overtime and UM was 1 for 2 with VSU leading 61-60 with 3:45 to go.  Curry came up with a big layup in the paint and then sophomore India Jordan made one of two tosses for 64-60 lead.  Flack cut the deficit in half to 64-62, but Francis answered with her second triple of the game for a 67-62 score and 2:13 to go.  Ards made one of two free throws for a 68-62 score with 29 seconds left as the Blazer fans began to feel it with a strong student contingent on hand, including a large number of student-athletes from other VSU athletic teams.  VSU made enough free throws down the stretch as UM had to foul for the 71-66 victory. 
 
The Falcons were led by 15 points from Northway and Edwards, while Northway had a game-high 14 rebounds.  Savannah Cook finished with 10 points of the bench and leading scorer, Snodgrass, had just nine points on the night and fouled out in overtime.  UM finished the game 25 of 68 from the field for 36.8 percent, while it was 10 of 32 from distance and 6 of 12 from the line.  VSU held a 45-37 lead in rebounding.  UM was 13 of 30 from the field in the first half and just 9 of 30 from the field in the second half, while going 3 of 8 from the field in overtime. 
 
UM held a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched the lead to six early in the second quarter, before VSU used an 8-0 run for a 24-22 lead with 4:14 left in the half.  Montevallo continued the strong play in the first half and regained the lead stretching it to five at 34-29 at intermission.
 
In the third quarter, Ards buried the Lady Blazers' first triple of the game to tie the score at 40 with 5:29 left in the frame as VSU started 0 for 7 from distance.  The 3-pointer sparked another 8-0 run for a 45-40 lead with 3:32 to play in the third.  UM ended the frame on a 6-0 run for a 46-45 lead.