VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 11/18 Valdosta State women's basketball team exacted a bit of revenge on Saturday as it raced out to a 24-4 first quarter lead and never looked back in an 80-50 victory over visiting Lee University on Hall of Fame Weekend.  VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer won her 100^th game at the helm of the Lady Blazers.  
 
Back on Nov. 25, 2023, Lee handed VSU its only conference loss of the season to this point in a 59-53 setback, in Cleveland, Tenn., but the Lady Blazers were not to be denied on Saturday with a big first quarter en route to the 13^th-straight victory since the loss in November.  VSU improved to 16-2 overall and 13-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while Lee fell to 11-7 overall and 9-5 in league play.
 
The Lady Blazers dominated the game from the get go, as senior Aleisha Curry was a force inside tying her season-high with 18 points, while going a career-best 12 of 12 from the line with four rebounds, one assist and one steal leading four players in double figures.  Curry finished 3 of 3 from the field for her 12^th game in double figures this season.  Junior Kalifa Ford was 6 of 10 from the field, 1 of 1 from beyond the arc and 1 of 1 from the line with a team-high seven rebounds and 14 points, while senior Tamiya Francis added 13 points on 4 of 6 from the field, 2 of 3 from distance and 3 of 3 from the line.  Senior Taylor Searcey added ten points and a team-high six assists.  VSU shot 25 of 46 from the field for 54.3 percent, while the team was 9 of 17 from distance and 21 of 24 from the line. 
 
The defense stymied Lee all day holding the Lady Flames to 31.8 percent from the field on 14 of 44 from the floor, while Lee was just 3 of 21 from beyond the arc and 19 of 25 from the line.  Mallory Hampton was the only player in double figures with 15 points on 5 of 12 from the field, 1 of 3 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 from the line.  Hampton entered the game averaging a league-best 20.0 points per contest for sixth nationally.  VSU entered leading the league in scoring defense allowing just 55.5 points per game for 15^th nationally.  Saturday marked the eighth time this season of holding the opposition under 55 points and the sixth-straight time.
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer won her 100^th game improving to 100-30 at VSU in her fifth season in Titletown.  She improved to 76-19 in GSC play, while she became the fourth coach since 1974 to achieve 100 career wins with the program.  Schirmer now is the third-fastest coach to win 100 games in just 130 total games.  Former Lady Blazer head coach Lyndal Worth (1974-1981) needed 120 games, while Charles Cooper (1981-1994) needed 127 as both also achieved the feat in their fifth seasons at the helm of the program.
 
Earlier Saturday morning, VSU inducted its 27^th Class into the VSU Athletic Hall of Fame and the 2024 Class includes; Shelby Altman (Softball 2013-2014), Leo Blay (Men's Tennis 2015-2017), Michael Doscher (Coach 1996-2020), Skip Fite (Baseball 1976-1977), Mike Leach (Coach 1992-1996), Kenny Moore II (Football 2013-2016), Cedric O'Neal (Football 2012-2015), Herb Reinhard (Athletic Director 1992-2024), Holly Satterfield (Softball 2009-2011) and Dr. Cheri and Hamilton Tillman (Contributor 1995 - Present).
 
In front of a season-high 1,027 fans, senior Emma Martin began the game with a triple on the first possession of the game setting the tone for the rest of the way.  Then, a steal and coast-to-coast bucket from Ford pushed the Lady Blazer lead to 8-2 with 5:57 left in the first.  Ford then buried a 3-pointer for an 11-2 lead with 3:44 left in the first quarter, as the Lady Blazer "D" forced the Lady Flames into four early turnovers and just 1 of 6 from the field to begin the contest.  A shot clock violation on the Lady Flames led to a hoop-and-harm for Curry, who knocked down the freebie for a 14-2 lead stretching the run to 11-0 with 3:14 to play in the quarter.  Curry made two more free throws and Martin drained her second triple of the game for a 19-2 lead with 2:16 left in the frame increasing the run to 16-0. Lee's only bucket to that point came with 8:07 left on a bucket from Haley Cameron.   Two more free throws from Curry pushed the lead to 21-2, but the Lady Flames ended the scoring drought with two free throws from Keira Leffew with 1:16 left in the frame at 21-4.  Francis found senior Lili Long in transition for a 3-pointer and a 24-4 lead through the first quarter.
 
VSU was 7 of 12 from the field in the opening frame, while going 4 of 5 from deep and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line.  The stifling Lady Blazer "D" held Lee to 1 of 9 from the field, 0 of 5 from distance forcing Lee into six turnovers and an 8-0 lead in points off miscues for the flame red and black.  
 
A long jumper from Hampton was the first field goal for her and the first for Lee in over eight minutes of playing time for a 24-6 VSU lead with 9:43 left in the half.  VSU continued to find easy sledding inside for a bucket from junior Victoria Ikenasio and a 28-6 lead and a 10-4 lead in points in the paint.  Ford hit the mid range jumper for a 30-10 score with 6:59 to play in the half for her 12^th point of the game.  A good inside-out play from Ford to Long for a three, caused Lee to call its second timeout of the half as VSU stretched the lead to 33-10 with 5:46 to play in the half.
 
Ford continued with the hot hand and drained another mid range jumper, this time from Searcey for her fourth assist of the game, and a 38-16 lead with two minutes to play in the half.  A great steal from Curry earned two freebies at the other end pushed the lead to 41-16 with 31 seconds left in the second quarter.  Lee played for the final shot as Hampton missed high off the backboard as time expired.  
 
For the half, VSU shot 13 of 25 from the field for 52 percent, while going 5 of 9 from distance and 10 of 11 from the line.  VSU held a 16-10 lead in rebounding and forced Lee into eight turnovers, leading to a 12-2 advantage in points off miscues as VSU had just five turnovers.  The defense held Lee to 5 of 22 from the field for the half for 22.7 percent, while the Lady Flames were just 1 of 10 from distance and 5 of 8 from the line.  Ford was fantastic for the half, going 6 of 9 from the field, 1 of 1 from range and 1 of 1 from the stripe for 14 points and a team-high four rebounds.  Curry had nine points off the bench and 7 of 7 from the line.  Hampton, who scored 30 points at West Florida on Thursday, had just six points for the Lady Flames to lead the team.  
 
A big offensive rebound from Ford and kick out to Searcey for a 3-pointer followed by Curry earning another "and one" pushed the lead to 51-19 with 6:13 left in the third.  VSU opened the second half scoring nine of the first 12 points.  Hampton hit a jumper for her eighth point of the game and a 51-21 score with 5:26 left in the frame and then Hampton connected on a 3-pointer, her first of the game, following a turnover by the Lady Blazers cut the VSU lead to 51-24 with four minutes to play in the quarter as Lee tried the full court press to try to get back into the contest.  Another triple from the Lady Flames' Mia Hurst trimmed the VSU lead to 52-27 with 3:16 left in the quarter.   Fouls started mounting on the Lady Flames with two players with four fouls on both Cameron and Leffew.  VSU continued to play standout basketball at both ends as Curry knocked down two more charity tosses for a 55-29 score and a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line with 2:01 left in the frame.  Searcey scored with four seconds left in the frame for a 59-35 lead through three quarters and almost had a steal and put back on the in bounds play before time expired in the quarter.  
 
Francis pushed the lead back to 29 with a 3-pointer and a 66-37 score with 7:45 to play in game off the sixth assist from Searcey.  With the shot clock winding down, Long scored on a deep jumper for her eighth point of the game and a 68-39 score as VSU went on for the 80-50 victory.  The win snapped a four-game losing skid for VSU to Lee and pulled the Lady Blazers to 14-15 all-time in the series and marked the largest margin of victory for either team in the series.  
 
The Lady Blazers return to the road next week as they travel to the Magnolia State for a pair of games at Delta State and Mississippi College.  Check back with vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page for links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more.