VALDOSTA Ga.- The No. 9/12 Valdosta State Lady Blazer basketball team took care of business against the in-state rival Wolves of West Georgia in front of a packed house, 67-57. 1,955 of the Valdosta State faithful filled the stands of the Complex for the third largest crowd in Lady Blazer basketball history in what could possibly be the final regular season clash with West Georgia in Title Town.
 
Prior to the opening tip, Head Coach Deandra Schirmer received a game ball to commemorate her 100^th win at VSU, which was achieved in the Hall of Fame weekend clash against Lee on January 20. Currently, she is 103-30 in her fifth season at VSU and is the third-fastest coach in program history to achieve 100 career victories in just 130 games.
 
For the season, the Lady Blazers improved to 19-2 overall and 16-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while West Georgia fell to 12-9 overall and 8-9 in league play. With the win, Valdosta State clinched a berth in the GSC Tournament which is set to take place at the start of March.
 
Overall, VSU shot just 37.3 percent for the game on 22 of 59 from the field, while the team was 4 of 14 from distance and 19 of 20 from the line. The Wolves held the advantage in rebounds, outrebounding the Lady Blazers, 37-26. However, a key factor in the matchup came down to taking care of the ball as UWG suffered 19 turnovers compared to VSU's five. The Lady Blazers were able to capitalize on these mistakes, scoring 19 points off West Georgia's miscues in the contest.
 
Individually, the Lady Blazers were led in scoring by junior Kalifa Ford, who continues to make her presence felt in the VSU offense. She led the game with 31 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the field, 2 of 4 from three-point range and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe. Other key Lady Blazer scorers include senior Taylor Searcey, who racked up 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the field, 1 of 3 from beyond the arc and 3 of 3 from the line while senior Aleisha Curry tacked on 11 points, going 3 of 6 from the floor and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free-throw line.
 
At the start of the game, the Lady Blazers and Wolves traded blows back and forth as the West Georgia defense forced VSU to take some tough shots. However, the Lady Blazers began to pull away on a nine-point run following a mid-range jumper from senior Emma Martin that put VSU up six with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter, 13-7. In the final seconds of the opening quarter, Valdosta State built up its lead to eight following a steal and layup from Curry to give VSU the eight-point lead, 21-13 by the end of the frame.
 
In the early minutes of the second quarter, VSU continued to keep the pressure on, making tough shots in the paint and forcing turnovers. The Lady Blazers built their highest lead of the game to that point at the 7:34 mark, going up by 10 following a mid-range jumper from Searcey, 25-15.  Down the stretch, the Wolves continued to chip away at the VSU lead with a layup from UWG's K'nari Holliday cutting the Lady Blazer lead to four at halftime, 36-32.
 
West Georgia quickly sliced the Valdosta State lead to two within the first few seconds of the third quarter following a driving layup from the Wolves, 36-34. The Lady Blazers fought back, going on a massive run that saw VSU go up by 10 in a flash following a 9-1 run in which Ford score all nine of Valdosta State's points, 45-35. Ford was a huge factor in the third quarter, scoring 16 of the Lady's Blazers 18 points in the quarter while also outscoring the entire UWG team in the frame.
 
Valdosta State would build its lead to 13 following a jumper from Searcey at the 7:34 mark of the fourth quarter, 57-44. The remainder of the game got sloppy for both teams as fouls flew on both sides of the court. However, VSU remained headstrong in the remainder of the matchup, never letting their lead fall below six points. By the final buzzer, the Lady Blazers defeated West Georgia, 67-57 to extend their win streak to 16-0.
 
The Valdosta State Lady Blazer basketball team is set to return to the Complex on Thursday, Feb. 8 to take on Christian Brothers at 6 p.m. For more information on this matchup and all things Lady Blazer basketball, visit vstateblazers.com.