VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 25 Valdosta State women's basketball team pulled away from visiting Palm Beach Atlantic in the second half for a 75-58 victory in the season-opener for both teams.  First-year Lady Blazer head coach Chandler Merkerson won her first game as head coach.  Lady Blazer senior newcomer Aryana Hicks finished her debut with 20 points on 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line. 
 
Leading 36-31 at half, the Lady Blazers turned on the pressure on both ends and outscored the Sailfish 39-27 in the second half en route to the victory.  For the game, VSU shot 35.1 percent from the field on 26 of 74, while it struggled from beyond the arc, going 4 of 24 and was 19 of 30 from the line.  Senior newcomer Kiersten Nelson finished with 17 points on 6 of 15 from the field and six rebounds, while sophomore Erin Whalen narrowly missed her first double-double of her career with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  Senior Courtney Stothard finished with ten rebounds.  VSU held a commanding 46-31 lead in rebounding and 15-2 on the offensive end, leading to a 14-2 lead in second chance points.  VSU forced PBA into 20 turnovers as the Lady Blazers had 14 miscues and held an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
The Sailfish were led by a game-high 25 points from Gabrielle Wener and 11 points from Kash Ayuso as PBA shot 20 of 51 from the floor, while going 2 of 11 from deep and were just 16 of 33 from the line. 
 
VSU now will face Eckerd (0-1) who lost to West Florida (1-0) 65-55 in the first game Thursday evening in the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover, on Friday at 5 p.m. at The Complex.  West Florida and Palm Beach Atlantic will play at 1 p.m. Friday.
 
PBA jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as VSU began just 1 of 4 from the field and the Sailfish started 3 of 5 through the first three minutes and change.  Hicks scored four of the Lady Blazers first six points as VSU pulled within 8-6 with 5:13 left in the opening quarter. Two free throws from Nelson tied the game at eight out of a media timeout and a 6-0 run by the Lady Blazers.  Whalen scored off an in bounds play from Hicks for VSU's first lead at 10-9 with 3:22 left in the quarter.   
 
Senior Jillian Schenk buried a corner pocket triple for a 13-10 VSU lead with 1:23 left in the quarter as Schenk played at PBA last season.  She then hit her second triple of the quarter for a 16-10 lead with 36 seconds remaining and settled for a 16-12 lead through ten minutes.  For the frame, VSU opened going 6 of 18 from the field with two triples, while PBA was 4 of 13 from the field and 0 of 3 from distance.  VSU was 2 of 2 from the line, while PBA was 4 of 6.  VSU held a 10-6 advantage in rebounding. 
 
Hicks opened the second quarter with her sixth point of the half and an 18-12 lead.  A good dish from Hicks to Nelson forced PBA into a timeout and a 20-12 VSU lead with 8:40 left in the half. A steal from Nelson and layup from senior India Jordan pushed the lead to 22-12 and a 6-0 run to start the second half.  Hicks continued to have the hot hand with a bucket inside stopping a 5-0 spurt by the Sailfish and a 24-17 lead.  Nelson pushed the lead back to eight with a nice assist from senior Jacey Justice at 28-20.  Ayuso pulled the Sailfish within 32-27 with just over a minute remaining in the half as both teams started to see the fouls mount. 
 
Lady Blazer senior Victoria Ikenasio hit two free throws for a 34-27 lead at the other end, but G. Wener called bank at the other end on a deep three and then earned two shots at the line, making one for a 34-31 VSU lead.  With the shot clock and game clock just about the same, Hicks drew a foul with seven seconds left making both tosses for a 36-31 score at the break. 
 
For the half, VSU shot 13 of 39 from the field for 33.3 percent, while it was just 2 of 15 from distance and 8 of 12 from the line.  PBA shot 10 of 26 from the field for 38.5 percent, while it was 1 of 5 from deep and was 10 of 17 from the line.  The Lady Blazers held a 21-16 lead in rebounding while leading 7-1 in offensive rebounds.  Hicks had a team-high 14 points for the half for VSU, while Wener had ten points for the Sailfish and Ayuso had eight. 
 
Two buckets from Wener pulled the Sailfish within 37-35 with nine minutes remaining in the third.  Schenk drew the third foul on two PBA players and made three of five free throws early in the frame for a 39-35 lead.  Whalen hit back-to-back buckets for a 45-37 lead with 7:25 left in the frame.  Nelson scored for her tenth point, pushing the lead to eight at 47-39 with 6:15 left in the quarter.  A great pass from Hicks to junior Mary McMorris for a 3-pointer gave VSU a 52-43 lead with 2:30 remaining in the quarter. 
 
Nelson pushed the Lady Blazer advantage to ten with one of two free throws tying the largest lead of the game, but a great steal from McMorris and fast break layup from Hicks for her 20th point pushed the lead to 12 at 57-45 with less than a minute in the quarter.    McMorris scored a jumper from the lane for a 59-47 lead through three frames.  Both teams shot much better in the third quarter as VSU was 9 of 16 from the field, while PBA was 7 of 12. 
 
Stothard scored the first points of the fourth quarter for a 61-47 Lady Blazer lead with 8:24 remaining in the fourth.  A triple from Whalen pushed the lead to 18 at 66-48 with six minutes to play.  Two free throws from Justice pushed the lead to 68-48 as VSU began the fourth quarter scoring nine of the first ten points.