VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 8 Valdosta State Lady Blazers bullied the No. 3 Union Lady Bulldogs and made a statement to the rest of the country, downing the number three-ranked team in the country by a score of 74-56 in a packed house at The Complex on Saturday afternoon. This win marked the 18th-straight win for Valdosta State, as it has not lost since the GSC opener at Lee on Nov. 25, 2023.
Aside from yet another hard-fought team win, junior Kalifa Ford was the star of the show, scoring 30 points for the second time in the last week. She dropped a career-high 31 points versus West Georgia last Saturday. Ford made 10-23 shots from the floor and was a perfect 10-10 from the stripe, as she along with the team was locked in, with the Lady Blazers making 18-20 attempts as a team. To go along with the scoring, Ford grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds, with eight of them being on the offensive end. The Bono, Ark. native dominated both sides of the court, blocking one shot, and recording four steals.
The Lady Bulldogs entered the game leading the nation in points per game, averaging 96.3 per contest on .470 from the field and .346 from distance. The Lady Blazer defense suffocated Union all game, holding it to .391 from the floor and an abysmal .235 from beyond the arc on only four makes. UU entered making 11.8 3-pointrs per game, also tops in the nation. Union committed a season-high 27 turnovers, which led to 26 Valdosta State points. The rebounding battle was a close one, but the offensive boards helped lead to extra possessions, as VSU recorded 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second chance points.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the game with a quick three, attempting to quiet the packed Complex crowd early. However, the Lady Blazers proved they were prepared for a dog fight as Ford weaved her way through the paint to open scoring for VSU, 3-2 with 9:09 left in the first quarter. The two powerhouses continued to trade blows back and forth down the stretch with 10 total lead changes in the first quarter alone. The Lady Blazers had the upper hand by the end of the first as a mid-range jumper from Ford put Valdosta State up 19-18 by the end of the opening frame.
VSU started to pull away in the early minutes of the second quarter as a pull-up jumper from senior Emma Martin gave the red and black a seven-point cushion with seven minutes remaining in the half. Union tried to cut into the VSU lead but were swiftly undermined by Martin who nailed a contested three-pointer to give VSU the double-digit lead at 30-20 with 2:10 left to play in the half. Union closed the quarter out on a six-point run to trim the deficit to six at intermission, 30-24. The Lady Blazer defense was stout in the second quarter, as Union scored just six points in the quarter.
The Lady Blazers came out in the second half ready to play, going on a 7-2 run capped off by a driving layup from Ford to give VSU its largest lead of the game to that point, 37-26. Valdosta State continued to hold a modest lead throughout the third quarter until a layup from the Lady Bulldogs at the 1:25 mark brought Union back within six, 46-40. However, freshman Erin Whalen silenced any chance of a Union comeback in the third, knocking down a corner three to put the Lady Blazers up by nine, 49-40.
In the final quarter of action, Martin scored a three-point play off a shooting foul from beyond the arc that put the Lady Blazers back up by double-digits, 54-44 with 9:02 left in the contest. From there, the Lady Blazers began to pour it on in the fourth, going up by 15 following an "and-one" from Ford, 69-54 with 2:35 left in the game. Valdosta State closed out the game, 74-56.
The Lady Blazers will look to continue their 18-game win streak next weekend when they head to Pensacola, Fla., to take on West Florida on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. ET. For more information on all things Lady Blazer basketball, visit vstateblazers.com.
