BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Down by as many as eight points in the second quarter, the No. 2/6 ranked Valdosta State women's basketball team battled back to defeat Lee Sunday afternoon 63-58 to claim the program's fourth Gulf South Conference title and first since 2017.  

The Lady Blazers improved to 29-2 overall and won their national-best 26^th-straight game earning the conference's automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA regional.  VSU won league titles in 1983, 1984 and the aforementioned 2017.  The Lady Blazers improved to 4-5 all-time in the championship game, while they are 29-29 all-time in the GSC postseason tournament in 33 appearances.  
 
A bucket from junior Kalifa Ford with 4:15 left in regulation gave VSU its first lead since early in the third quarter and a 51-50 lead.  Senior Taylor Searcey hit two free throws for a 53-50 lead capping a 9-0 run, but Lee's Baylee Delbridge pulled the Lady Flames within 53-52 with 3:13 to go.  
 
Searcey committed her fifth foul of the game, but Lee's Haylee Jonson only made one free throw to knot it at 53 with 2:54 to play.  Senior Tamiya Francis broke the tie with a driving layup with 2:38 to go, while two free throws from Lee's Mallory Hampton tied the game.  Francis was huge down the stretch for the Lady Blazers and continued to have the hot hand, giving the red and black the lead with 2:05 to play, 57-55.  
 
The teams traded offensive fouls with 62 seconds to play and the Lady Blazers clinging to a 57-55 lead. Francis came up with a huge offensive rebound on a missed triple, fouling out Hampton, with 36 seconds to play as she made one of two tosses for a 58-55 lead.   
 
Out of a timeout by Lee, Kara Williams missed a 3-pointer and Ford came up with her ninth rebound of the contest, but VSU was whistled for an offensive foul with 28 seconds to play on the boxout.  Lee made one of two free throws and almost had the offensive rebound as it tipped off Anna Muhonen's hand to senior Lili Long and a time out by the Lady Blazers.  Out of a timeout by VSU, Muhonen committed her fifth foul, sending Curry to the line who calmly knocked down both tosses.  Lee missed a triple and Curry was fouled with 13 seconds to remaining converting two more for a 62-56 lead as the Lady Blazers could smell the championship.  Johnson missed a triple and Delbridge scored on the rebound for a 62-58 score.  Curry hit one free throw for the final margin, 63-58.
 
"We always start off film with what we call winning plays and I thought down the stretch the offensive rebound by Tamiya Francis when that fouled out their key player," head coach Deandra Schirmer said.  "Those winning plays are what fueled us today and it's the little moments when you can get a little edge.  
 
In strong defensive performances by both teams worthy of a championship game, VSU shot 40.4 percent from the field on 21 of 52, while it was 6 of 16 from distance and 15 of 19 from the line, including 10 of 13 from the stripe in the pivotal fourth quarter.  Lee finished 21 of 51 from the field (41.2), while the Lady Flames were 5 of 23 from beyond the arc and 11 of 16 from the line.  VSU held a 39-29 lead in rebounding, while Lee held an 11-6 in points off turnovers as VSU had 12 miscues and Lee had 11.
 
Curry had a team-high 15 points off the bench as she was 4 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 from the line leading three players in double figures.  Searcey added 14 points and seven rebounds on 4 of 6 from the field, 2 of 2 from distance and 4 of 4 from the line, while recording four assists and Francis added ten points on 4 of 8 from the field with one free throw and one 3-pointer.  Ford finished with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.  Hampton had a game-high 17 points for Lee, along with 15 from Muhonen and ten from Addison Smith.  
 
"You have to give all the credit to Lee University, their team and they have a heart of a champion," Schirmer added.  "I told Marty (Rowe) before the game, never doubt someone who has a heart of a champion and they came out and battled.  We had to earn every second of it and I am proud of this group for closing the deal."
 
Schirmer improved to 113-30 at the helm of the Lady Blazers as she earned GSC Coach of the Year honors this season for the second time.  She was East Division Coach of the Year in 2020-21.  VSU evened the all-time series with Lee at 15-15, while Schirmer now is 8-8 all-time against the Lady Flames.
 
Following the game, the GSC All-Tournament Team was announced as Searcey was named Most Valuable Player leading three Lady Blazers on the team.  Curry and Ford also made the all-tournament team, while Hampton and Johnson earned spots for Lee.  Auburn Montgomery's Grace O'Gara and Union's Shanique Lucas completed the all-tournament team.
 
VSU opened Sunday's game with a triple from Long just 12 seconds into the contest, but the upset-minded Lady Flames responded with a 9-0 run on a bucket from Muhonen off a steal from Smith with 7:05 left in the first quarter.  Searcey nailed her first triple of the game, pulling VSU within 11-10 and 4:57 left in the opening stanza.  Later, Long dialed long distance, once again, tying the game at 13 and Francis tied the game late in the quarter at 15, but Lee's Haley Cameron scored inside for a 17-15 Lee advantage through one frame.
 
Back-to-back triples from Lee pushed the lead to 24-17 and a 7-2 spurt by the Lady Flames to start the second quarter.  Lee would stretch the lead to as many as eight points twice, but a triple from Francis at the buzzer gave VSU momentum going into halftime, trailing 33-28.  
 
A pair of buckets from junior Victoria Ikenasio gave VSU the lead at 34-30 with 7:57 left in the third quarter, but two free throws by Muhonen at the other end gave the Lady Flames the lead.  The game remained between a 1 and 3-point margin the rest of the quarter as Hampton scored at the buzzer for a 43-40 Lee advantage through three.
 
Early in the fourth, Lee would build its lead to as many as six points as Muhonen scored in the paint for a 50-44 advantage with 6:06 to play.  Searcey answered with her second one from downtown at the other end and Curry scored inside starting the 9-0 run.  
 
The 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com this evening at 10:30 p.m. ET. Check back with vstateblazers.com following the show to see who VSU will be facing in the opening round of the regional.