VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off the Christmas break, the No. 23 Valdosta State women's basketball team battled back for a 75-67 victory Tuesday evening over visiting West Florida for the first win of 2024. VSU improved to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in Gulf South Conference play as it ran its winning streak to seven games.
VSU, who trailed by as many as seven in the second half, outscored UWF 25-14 in the fourth quarter for the big victory handing UWF its fourth loss of the season (8-4, 5-3 GSC). In the final stanza, VSU shot a blistering 10 of 14 from the field 2 of 3 from distance and 3 of 6 from the line, while the Lady Blazers were 18 of 29 from the field for the second half after opening the game just 12 of 31 from the field for the first half. Junior
Kalifa Ford finished with a career-high 26 points, surpassing her previous mark of 24 points set last time out against Union on Dec. 17. Ford was fantastic going 11 of 14 from the field, nailing a key triple and was 3 of 3 from the line leading three Lady Blazers in double figures. Senior
Taylor Searcey added 18 points on 8 of 14 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line, while senior
Aleisha Curry added 11 points off the bench. Junior
Victoria Ikenasio narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Ikenasio went 4 of 8 from the field and 1 of 2 from the line.
For the game, VSU shot 30 of 60 from the field, just 3 of 11 from distance and 12 of 17 from the line, while it outrebounded the Argos 33-29. UWF finished 27 of 56 from the field for 48.2 percent as the Argos were just 6 of 18 from the field in the fourth quarter. UWF was 7 of 22 from distance, but was just 6 of 12 from the line. Tyashia Bostick and Brooke Kane each had 16 points to lead the way for the Argos, going a combined 13 of 21 from the field and 4 of 7 from distance. Claire Sutherland-Case added 12 points off the bench.
VSU won its 27
th game in the last 48 meeting against UWF since 2000. VSU head coach
Deandra Schirmer improved to 94-30 overall and 70-19 in GSC play in her fifth season as head coach. VSU moved from 25
th to 23
rd Tuesday in the newest WBCA Top 25.
The Lady Blazers cut the UWF deficit to three points at 53-50 through three frames, but the Argos scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter from Kane and then she buried a triple moments later for a 58-52 lead with 7:50 to play. From there, VSU kept chipping away and Curry scored inside off her offensive rebound cutting the deficit to 58-54 with 7:26 to play. Searcey scored a big jumper out of a timeout by UWF for a 58-56 deficit. Ford tied the game at 60 with five minutes to play and another timeout by the Argos. Out of the stoppage, Bostick called corner pocket for a triple, but Searcey pulled VSU within one and then senior
Emma Martin hit a straight away triple for a 65-62 lead with 4:02 to play. Kane pulled UWF within one with 2:53 to go, but Ford had the answer with her fifth triple of the season for a 69-65 lead with 2:31 to go. Veronika Roberts pulled the Argos within 69-67 with 2:09 to play, but the Lady Blazers closed the game on a 6-0 run for the 75-67 victory.
The Lady Blazers opened making six of their first seven buckets for a 15-12 lead through the first five minutes, while UWF was 5 of 7 from the field. UWF was 2 of 4 from distance early, while VSU was 1 of 1 and the Lady Blazers were 3 of 3 from the line. Ford scored inside following an offensive foul on the Argos for an 18-12 lead with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter. Ford scored her second bucket for a 20-12 lead following two charity misses by the Argos. Curry stuck with her miss and a put back for a 22-12 lead and just over a minute left. Bostick ended the Lady Blazer run with a layup late in the quarter, but Curry earned two shots with 3.3 seconds remaining and a 24-14 lead after the first quarter. VSU began the game 9 of 16 from the field, while UWF cooled off to 6 of 13 from the field for the quarter and made just 1 of its final 6 shots in the frame.
Ford continued her strong start pushing the lead back to double-digits at 26-16 with eight minutes left in the half. Two old fashion 3-point plays by UWF pulled the Argos within five at 26-21 with seven minutes remaining in the half. UWF pulled within 26-25 with 4:34 to play in the quarter on a 9-0 run as VSU began the frame just 1 of 9 from the field, while UWF was 5 of 10 and outscored VSU 11-2 for the frame with 4:04 to play in the half. Curry ended the run out of a media timeout for a 28-25 lead. Searcey pushed the lead back to five at 30-25 with two minutes remaining in the half. Sutherland-Case buried a triple for a 30-29 VSU lead and one minute to play. Two free throws from Kane gave UWF its first lead since early in the game at 31-30 at the break.
VSU went just 3 of 14 from the field for the quarter, while UWF was 6 of 13 from the field, 1 of 5 from distance and 4 of 6 from the line. For the half, VSU shot 12 of 30 from the field for 40 percent, while it was 1 of 6 from deep and 5 of 5 from the line. UWF was 12 of 26 from the field for 46.2 percent, while it was 3 of 11 from beyond the arc and 4 of 8 from the line. UWF held an 18-16 lead in rebounding in a game with three ties and three lead changes. VSU held a 12-4 lead in points off turnovers as the Lady Blazers forced UWF into ten miscues for the half, while VSU had six turnovers. VSU was led by eight points from Ford, while Ikenasio had eight rebounds in the half. Kane finished the half with seven points for the Argos to lead the team.
Both teams returned to first quarter form in the third as the frame saw the teams combine for 14 of 25 from the field through the first nine minutes as UWF held a 51-46 lead. A turnover on the Argos with 45 seconds left gave VSU a chance to cut into the deficit, but a steal and layup from UWF pushed the lead to 53-46. Searcey earned the and one with four seconds left. Searcey missed the free throw, but Ikenasio had the rebound and put back for a 53-50 deficit through three frames. It was Ikenasio's first rebound of the second half as she had eight in the first.
The Lady Blazers continue at home on Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Complex versus Auburn Montgomery and then on Monday at 3 p.m. at The Complex versus Montevallo to conclude the three-game home stand.
