VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 11/18 Valdosta State women's basketball team returned to The Complex with a 74-45 victory over visiting Shorter University Thursday evening as the Lady Blazers ran their winning streak to 12 games.
Lady Blazer head coach
Deandra Schirmer won her 99
th game at VSU, as she improved to 99-30 in her five seasons in Titletown and 75
th victory in GSC play, improving to 75-19. Junior
Victoria Ikenasio finished with a team-high 15 points, going a perfect 7 of 7 from the field, 1 of 3 from the line and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Senior
Aleisha Curry had 13 points off the bench, going 5 of 7 from the field and 3 of 3 from the line, while senior
Lili Long added 12 points all on 3-pointers. VSU (15-2, 12-1 GSC) shot 29 of 61 from the field for 47.5 percent, while it was 9 of 25 from beyond the arc and 7 of 10 from the line.
Shorter (1-16, 0-13 GSC) finished 16 of 46 from the field for 34.8 percent, while the Hawks were 6 of 20 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 from the line. Holley Turner was the lone SU player in double figures with 11 points on 4 of 9 from the field, 1 of 4 from range and 2 of 4 from the line.
Two triples from senior
Emma Martin early and three big buckets inside from junior
Victoria Ikenasio sparked VSU to a 17-0 run breaking a 5-5 score for a 22-5 lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. SU's Lindsey Hardin ended the run with a 3-pointer with 2:02 left in the frame. VSU opened 10 of 16 from the field, while Shorter was just 3 of 7 from the field as the Lady Blazers forced seven miscues through the first eight minutes. Senior
Aleisha Curry came up with a big offensive rebound and a put back with an old fashion three-point play for a 26-8 lead with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. She then scored off her own rebound for a 28-8 score through one frame. VSU finished the quarter 12 of 19 from the field, while SU was 3 of 9.
Martin buried her second shot from distance pushing the VSU lead to 37-16 with 6:34 left in the first half giving Martin nine points to that point. The triples kept falling for the Lady Blazers as Long was true from the corner pocket for a 40-18 score and just over five minutes left in the half. Junior
Jacey Justice scored off an assist from senior
Tamiya Francis as she then forced the steal and junior
India Jordan scored on the fast break for a 48-33 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half. Francis then scores the final bucket of the half off a turnover for a 50-23 lead at half.
VSU shot 62.5 percent for the half on 20 of 32 from the field, while it was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc and 4 of 6 from the line. The Lady Blazers held Shorter to 9 of 21 from the field, 3 of 9 from distance and 2 of 3 from the line. VSU forced SU into 13 turnovers leading to a 24-10 lead in points off turnovers as the Lady Blazers had six turnovers in the opening half. Martin and Curry each had nine points led the Lady Blazers in scoring for the half as Martin was 3 for 5 from deep, while Curry was 4 of 5 from the field and 1 of 1 from the line. All ten players who played in the half scored for the red and black.
Ikenasio scored an uncontested layup for a 55-28 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter and senior
Taylor Searcey came up with a big steal on the ensuing possession, leading to a bucket inside from Curry for a 57-28 lead with 4:44 to play in the third for the largest lead of the game to that point. Junior
Courtney Stothard hit a triple in the corner for 60-32 lead with three minutes left in the frame for the eighth make from distance for the Lady Blazers. VSU held a 62-38 lead through three quarters.
Long knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the game for a 67-40 lead and 7:47 left in the contest for Long's 12
th point of the game. Ikenasio scored on the fast break from a nice service from Long pushing the lead back to 29 at 69-40 with 6:20 to play and a 7-2 start to the fourth quarter. Justice extended the spurt to a 10-2 run with a nice reverse layup for a 72-40 lead with under four minutes to play.
The Lady Blazers will be back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Lee University at The Complex for Hall of Fame Weekend.
Click here for more information on Hall of Fame.
