PENSACOLA, Fla. – Upset-minded West Florida gave No. 3-ranked Valdosta State all it could handle, but the Lady Blazers, behind big baskets down the stretch from junior Kalifa Ford and senior Taylor Searcey for a 56-49 victory Saturday afternoon.  With the win, VSU improved to 22-2 overall and 19-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while UWF fell to 13-11 overall and 10-10 in league play.
 
Ford, the reigning GSC Player of the Week, finished with her second-straight double-double with a game-high 21 points and ten rebounds, going 8 of 22 from the field, 3 of 5 from distance and 2 of 4 form the line, while Searcey added 16 points on 6 of 12 from the field and a team-high 4 of 6 from the line, along with four steals and three assists.  VSU shot 35.6 percent for the game on 21 of 59 from the field, 4 of 12 from distance and 10 of 16 from the line.
 
UWF was led by 17 points from Tyashia Bostick on 6 of 14 from the field, 2 of 3 from deep and 3 of 3 from the line with nine rebounds.  Claire Sutherland-Case went 4 of 12 from the field, 2 of 7 from downtown and 6 of 6 from the line for 16 points.  The Argonauts shot 34 percent for the game, while they were 4 of 22 from distance and 13 of 14 from the line. 
 
VSU held a 41-30 lead in rebounding and a 12-2 advantage on the offensive end, while forcing UWF into 18 turnovers leading to a 15-9 advantage in points off miscues.  UWF entered the game leading the GSC in rebounding at 41.83 per game and led the league in field goal percentage defense holding teams to a 35.5 clip from the field.  VSU entered second in the league in field goal defense at a 37.0 clip. 
 
The 19-straight victories mark the second-longest streak in program history (21 in 1983-84) and now is tied for the top current streak in NCAA Division II Women's Basketball with Minnesota State, who plays later this afternoon.  The Lady Blazers also keep atop the GSC standings by one game over Union (18-2), who defeated Montevallo 73-50 on Saturday. 
 
VSU swept the two regular season meetings with UWF, as it won 75-67 in Valdosta on Jan. 2, 2024.  The Lady Blazers now have won five of the last six against the Argos and the last three in Pensacola. 
 
UWF raced out to a 10-2 lead through the first three minutes and change as the Argos began 4 of 6 from the field and 2 of 3 from distance, while VSU was just 1 of 8 from the field.  The Lady Blazers began to find some offensive rhythm and closed to within 20-16 through the first quarter, finishing the frame 5 of 10 from the field.  VSU trailed 16-4 with 4:04 to play in the quarter and finished on a 12-4 run. 
 
The second quarter saw VSU score the first four points of the frame, as Ford tied the game at 20 with 8:05 remaining in the half for her seventh point of the game.  The Lady Blazers took their first lead, extending the run to 18-4 since the first quarter, on a jumper from senior Emma Martin with 6:43 left in the half at 22-20. 
 
Two free throws from Sutherland-Case tied the game at 22 with 6:19 to go for her team-leading eighth point of the contest.  Senior Lili Long buried a triple off an assist from senior Tamiya Francis for a 29-26 VSU lead with 1:19 to play in the half.  Ford scored her ninth point of the game for a 30-26 lead with 36 ticks left, but UWF's Shania Johnson hit a jumper off her own offensive rebound at the buzzer for a 30-28 VSU lead at the break.
 
For the half, VSU shot 12 of 35 from the field (34.3), while going 2 for 8 from distance and 4 of 4 from the line.  UWF shot 11 of 28 from the field (39.3) and 4 of 13 from range, while the Argos were 2 of 2 from the line.  VSU held a 24-16 lead in rebounding and led 8-4 in points off turnovers. Ford had a team-high nine points in the half, while both Bostick and Sutherland-Case had ten each for UWF.
 
Searcey scored her eighth point of the game off the fourth assist from Francis matching the largest lead of the game for the Lady Blazers at 34-30 with six minutes left the in third.  A steal from Ford and score pushed the lead to 37-30 with 4:55 left in the quarter.  Searcey registered her fourth theft of the game and score putting her in double-digits followed by a timeout by UWF with 4::02 to play in the frame and a 39-32 VSU lead. 
 
Out of the stoppage, Bostick scored inside trimming the VSU lead back to five at 39-34.  Two freebies from Ford pushed the lead back to seven at 41-34 and two more charity tosses from senior Aleisha Curry swelled the lead to nine at 43-34 with 1:40 to play in the third.  The "and one" for Brooke Kane, for her first three points of the game trimming the VSU lead to 43-37 through three quarters.  Kane entered averaging 13 points per game to lead the team.  She finished with three points.
 
Ford pulled down her seventh rebound of the game and then drained her first triple for 18 points pushing the lead back to nine at 46-37 with 8:11 to play and the first points of the fourth quarter.  Long scored inside for a 48-39 lead with 6:54 to go.  The fouls started to mount for the Lady Blazers as Ford picked up her fourth as Izarria Alexander hit one of two free throws.  Two huge buckets from Searcey pushed the lead to 12 at 52-40 with 5:31 to play.  Ford then dialed long distance, once again, for a 55-45 lead with 3:27 to play. 
 
The fourth foul on Sutherland-Case gave VSU a 56-47 lead with 2:46 to play.  Two uncharacteristic misses at the line by the Lady Blazers, but the defense stood tall forcing a turnover with 1:16 to play and a timeout by VSU.  UWF's Moriah Taylor scored with 1:08 to play off a turnover by VSU for a 56-49 score for the final margin.

VSU continues on the road at Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery next Thursday and Saturday, respectively, before returning home on Feb. 29 versus West Alabama for the Pink Out Game presented by Southern OBGYN at 6 p.m.  VSU then will conclude the regular season on Mar. 2, for Senior Day versus Alabama Huntsville at The Complex at 2 p.m.