VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State Lady Blazer basketball team heads into the holiday break after claiming a 58-50 victory over the No. 23-ranked Lee Lady Flames at The Complex on Saturday afternoon. The win marks the first ranked win under first year head coach Chandler Merkerson and puts the Lady Blazers on a two-game winning streak heading into the new year.
With the win, Valdosta State advanced to 8-3 on the season with a 3-2 mark in Gulf South Conference play while Lee suffered its second-straight loss of the week, dropping to 9-3 on the year and 3-3 in GSC play.

Junior Aryana Hicks led the way for the Lady Blazers on the offensive side of the ball, scoring a game-high 14 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor, 0-2 from beyond the arc and a near-perfect 4-5 from the free-throw line. She also racked up a season-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Meanwhile, junior Mary McMorris added 10 points going 3-6 from the field, 1-1 from three-point range and 3-4 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Erin Whalen also snagged a game-high three steals on the afternoon.

Collectively, the Lady Blazers shot an impressive 22 of 47 (46.8%) from the field while going 4 of 14 (28.6%) from three-point range and 10 of 15 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Lee shot a decent 19 of 45 (42.2%) from the floor, 7 of 20 (35%) from beyond the arc and went 5 of 6 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. One of the biggest X-factors of the game was VSU's aptness to force 20 turnovers on 11 steals for a collective 22 points off of Lee's miscues. Valdosta State's ability to dominate in the paint also proved to be vital in the matchup as the Lady Blazers slightly out-rebounded Lee, 25-24 while scoring 34 total points in the paint.

The Lady Blazers came out of the gate hot, constructing an early 11-point lead, 15-4, following a timely corner three from McMorris at the 4:26 mark in the first quarter. However, Lee proved to not stay down for long, bringing the contest back within two at 17-15 near the end of the first quarter following a pair of free-throws from Lee's premier guard, Mallory Hampton. However, Senior Kiersten Nelson put the Lady Blazers up by five at the end of the frame on a made free-throw and a buzzer-beater layup, 20-15.

The second quarter got off to a quiet start with the first point scored in the frame not coming until the 7:50 mark on a free-throw shot from Nelson, 21-15. VSU went on to build up its biggest lead since the 11-point swing in the first as senior Jillian Schenk knocked down a deep three to give Valdosta State a 26-17 lead at the 6:37 mark. The Lady Flames continued to chip away at the Lady Blazers' lead, sinking two three-pointers at the end of the half to cut the VSU lead to just one by half-time, 29-28.

Lee looked to build off its explosive ending to the first half, as the Lady Flames' leading scorer Bailey Burgess rattled off a three to start the third quarter, giving Lee its first lead of the day 31-29. However, the Lady Blazers kept their composure as Hicks scored two-straight buckets to take back the lead, 35-31 at the 5:17 mark. From there, the Lady Blazers never looked back as a pull-up jumper from Schenk gave VSU a seven-point lead in the blink of an eye with 4:25 left in the third. Valdosta State capped off the third quarter with one final basket at the 1:06 mark as McMorris drove into the paint for a contested layup to go up by eight, 44-36.

With the Lady Blazers firmly in the driver's seat, senior India Jordan kicked off the fourth quarter with a corner three to put VSU up by double-digits once again, 47-36 with 9:25 left in the contest. With the game coming down to the wire, the number 23-ranked Lady Flames continued to battle, trying to get back into the game. Lee managed to come within three at 51-38 following a two-point jumper from Haylee Johnson with 3:40 left to play. The stout Lady Blazer defense continued to force Lee into some tough shots, which the Lady Flames were unable to capitalize on. By the 1:49 mark, Lee was forced to start fouling VSU to try and gain some leverage. Following free-throws from Jordan and Hicks, the Lady Blazers' went up by six at the 0:19 mark. A quick layup from Hampton brought the Lady Flames within four before a pair of free-throws from McMorris and a last-second layup from Whalen gave Valdosta State its definitive eight-point victory, 58-50.

The Lady Blazers now have some time off for the holidays but are set to return to action on the road in 2025, taking on Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss. on Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET and Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. on Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. ET. Valdosta State is set to return to action in The Complex on Jan. 9 as the Lady Blazers will host GSC-rival Union in The Complex at 6 p.m. For more information on Lady Blazer basketball, be sure to stay tuned to vstateblazers.com.