LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Behind a 23-6 third quarter and a 34-21 second half, the No. 14/19 Valdosta State women's basketball team pulled away from West Alabama Saturday afternoon for a 64-44 victory, running the Lady Blazer winning streak to 11 games. 
 
The Lady Blazers improved to 14-2 overall and 11-1 in Gulf South Conference play as the team was led by 15 points from junior Victoria Ikenasio who was 6 of 12 from the field, 1 of 1 from beyond the arc, 2 of 5 from the line and had a team-high seven rebounds.  Junior Kalifa Ford added 13 points, while senior Taylor Searcey chipped in 11 points.   VSU shot 43.9 percent for the game on 25 of 57, while it was 6 of 22 from beyond the arc and 8 of 13 from the line.  The Lady Blazers went 9 of 15 in the third quarter, 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and 3 of 4 from the line in the frame to pull away after holding a 30-23 lead at intermission.
 
UWA fell to 4-12 overall and 3-9 in league play as the Tigers were led by 14 points from Kendall Lacoste also leading three players in double figures.  Lacoste went 4 of 8 from the field, 1 of 3 from distance and 5 of 7 from the line.  The Lady Blazer "D" held UWA to 35.1 percent for the game on 13 of 37 from the field, while the Tigers were just 3 of 15 from distance and went 15 of 19 from the line.  VSU forced 31 turnovers by the Tigers leading to a 34-11 lead in points off turnovers as VSU had just 12 miscues for the contest.  VSU never trailed in the game and held its fourth opponent this season under 50 points.  UWA held a 34-23 lead in rebounding for the game.
 
The Lady Blazers broke a 10-10 score with two free throws from senior Aleisha Curry starting a 7-0 run to end the first quarter and a 17-10 score.  Early in the second, Ikenasio stretched the run to 10-0 for a 20-10 score and built the lead to as many as 15 at 29-14 with 4:37 remaining in the half. 
 
A triple from Jordan Parker started a big rally for the Tigers as they ended the half with a 9-1 run over the final four minutes and change trimming the VSU lead to 30-23 at the break.  Like throughout much of the season, the Lady Blazers made the adjustments in the second half as Ikenasio pushed the lead to nine with the first bucket of the second half.  UWA kept the deficit in single digits for the first five minutes, but a triple from senior Emma Martin sparked a 17-2 run over the final 5:41 of the quarter for a 53-29 lead through three frames.  VSU held UWA to 1 of 7 from the field in the third, while the Tigers were 0 of 4 from distance and 4 of 7 from the line. 
 
In the fourth, UWA trimmed the deficit under 20 points twice, but were unable to get any closer as VSU went on for the 64-44 victory.  In the three games this week, VSU held all three opponents under 55 points with an 87-51 win over Montevallo, along with the 71-44 victory at Alabama Huntsville on Thursday and the 64-44 victory Saturday.   VSU is allowing a GSC-best just 56.2 points per game this season for 26^th nationally. 
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer won her 98^th game at VSU (98-30) in her fifth season, while she improved to 74-19 all-time against GSC competition.  VSU returns home to host Shorter on Thursday at 6 p.m. at The Complex, and then versus Lee University on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at The Complex on Hall of Fame Weekend. Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  Click here to purchase tickets for Hall of Fame.