MORROW, Ga. – Behind a 19-0 start to the second half, the Valdosta State women's basketball team won its fourth game in a row with an 87-60 victory at Clayton State on Tuesday afternoon.  Lady Blazer junior Mary McMorris had a career-high 26 points to pace the team.
 
Leading 43-32 at intermission, the Lady Blazers came out of the locker room on fire as McMorris began the run with a layup for a 45-32 lead and then she drained one of her four triples in the contest stretching the lead to 50-32 with 8:15 left in the frame.  McMorris finished the game, going 10 of 16 from the field, 4 of 5 from distance and 2 of 2 from the line with four rebounds and six assists.  VSU would push the lead to 30 at 62-32 with 5:56 left in the quarter on a jumper from senior Jacey Justice.  
 
Clayton State hit two free throws from Kyla Greene for its first points of the frame with 4:25 to play and the Lakers wouldn't make their first field goal of the quarter until a hook shot from Etaria Gibbons with 3:55 to play in the frame.  VSU outscored Clayton State 30-14 for the frame.  Both teams scored 14 points in the fourth quarter for the 87-60 final margin.  A total of 11 of the 12 VSU players who played scored in the game.
 
VSU improved to 5-1 on the year, while Clayton State fell to 2-5.  The Lady Blazers shot 32 of 59 from the field for a 54.2 clip, while they were 11 of 22 from distance tying their most 3-pointers made in a game this season.  VSU went 12 of 24 from the line, while it registered a season-high 53 rebounds, holding a 53-21 lead in rebounding and 14-3 advantage on the offensive end.  Sophomore Erin Whalen finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Amaya Broadus had six points and a career-high 13 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.  
 
The Lakers were led by 16 points from Greene, while Gibbons added 14 points.  The Lady Blazer "D" held Clayton State to just 18 of 56 from the field (32.1) including just 8 of 28 in the second half, while the Lakers were 4 of 19 from distance and were 20 of 29 from the line.  
 
VSU took control of the game from the outset and never trailed as it used an 11-0 run for a 19-5 lead capped with a steal and score from Whalen with 3:53 left in the first quarter as VSU held a 25-9 lead through ten minutes.  
 
A triple from Hannah Wright of Clayton State sparked a bit of a rally for the Lakers midway through the second half, pulling the team within 31-18 with 5:25 to play in the half.  Greene hit a triple for a 34-23 lead as VSU was able to keep the lead in double-figures the rest of the half, but Greene drained another triple trimming the margin to 43-32 in the final minute of the half.  
 
VSU came out of the break and stopped whatever momentum Clayton State had towards the end of the first half with the big run to take command of the game and seal the victory.  The Lady Blazers improved to 4-1 against Clayton State since 2006.  
 
The Lady Blazers will break for the Thanksgiving holiday before opening Gulf South Conference play on Dec. 5-7 at West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville, respectively.