VALDOSTA, Ga. – In a game that had all of the makings of March Madness, the top-seeded Valdosta overcame shooting struggles for a thrilling 54-52 victory over No. 8-seed West Georgia in the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Championship Tuesday evening at The Complex.  VSU advances to the GSC Semifinals Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET versus No. 4-seed Auburn Montgomery in Birmingham, Ala., on the campus of Samford University.
 
VSU (27-2), trailed 52-50 with 32 seconds left as senior Taylor Searcey took the inbound pass and drove to the bucket for the equalizer, converting the three-point play for a 53-52 lead with 28.1 seconds to play.   Out of a timeout by UWG to advance the ball and called another timeout with 19.7 remaining as Katelyn Dunning's shot was rejected by Searcey as senior Aleisha Curry came up with a huge rebound and timeout with 11.8 left.  Curry was immediately fouled and made one of two free throws with 9.4 seconds left.  UWG drove down the court the Dunning missed an off-balance 3-pointer in the corner as Curry came up with her biggest rebound of her career as time expired. Curry finished with five rebounds, none bigger than her final two. 
 
Fans interested in traveling to Birmingham for the semifinals and finals, can purchase tickets by clicking here.  The GSC Championship Central webpage can be accessed by clicking here with links to live stats, streaming and more.  Saturday's contest will be broadcast on TALK 92.1 FM WDDQ with Mike Chason having the call on the radio, while the game will be streamed on FloSports.  
 
"We know down the stretch we don't flinch," Lady Blazer head coach Deandra Schirmer said when asked about the emotional up and down of the game. "No matter what the score is, whether we are down two or whether we are up one.  We know situational basketball and what we practice every single day and for us to execute down the stretch, I was really proud of this group."
 
VSU earned a berth in the conference tournament semifinals for the fourth consecutive season and ran its current winning streak to a national-best 24 games.  VSU went 2-0 against Auburn Montgomery this season winning 65-43 in Valdosta on Jan. 6, and 78-55 in Montgomery, Ala., on Feb. 24.  Schirmer improved to 111-30 in her fifth season at the helm of the Lady Blazers with the win Tuesday evening as VSU now is 25-28 all-time in the Gulf South Conference Tournament and will be making its 19^th appearance in the semifinals.
 
Searcey was the lone Lady Blazer in double figures with 16 points on 5 of 15 from the field, 1 of 5 from deep and 5 of 5 from the line with a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks and a career-high six steals in 39 minutes of play.  VSU shot a season-low 32.8 percent for the game on 20 of 61 from the field, while it was 6 of 21 from beyond the arc and 8 of 9 from the line.  
 
West Georgia (16-13) shot 20 of 54 from the field for 37 percent, while the Wolves were 3 of 14 from beyond the arc and 9 of 14 from the line.  UWG outrebounded VSU 40-26.  Jada Powell had 12 points off the bench for UWG on 5 of 7 from the field, while Sydne Tolbert was 4 of 11 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line for 10 points.  K'Nari Holliday had a game-high ten rebounds.  VSU held its eighth-straight opponent to under 40 percent shooting.  
 
"We knew coming into this game that West Georgia is not a number eight seed," Schirmer added.  "They are one of the top teams in our conference and just because of how the season played out, they ended up the eight-seed."
 
The Lady Blazers started out on fire as senior Lili Long made three triples and the team began 7 of 9 from the field for a 15-3 lead through the first four minutes and change.  UWG came back with a 10-2 run pulling within 17-14 on a hoop and harm for Powell with 2:30 left in the opening quarter.  Junior Victoria Ikenasio pushed the lead to 19-14 with 1:46 left in the frame and senior India Jordan drained one from distance, pushing the lead back to eight at 22-14 moments later.  Ikenasio scored her second bucket of the frame late in the quarter for a 24-15 lead, but Powell answered at the other end for two, ending the quarter with VSU leading 24-17.   VSU opened the game 10 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from distance in the first quarter, while UWG was 7 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 from the line.
 
The teams struggled offensively early in the second quarter as the defense stepped up their games.  Holliday scored the first bucket of the quarter pulling UWG within 24-19 with 6:53 to play in the half.  The teams began the second quarter a combined 1 for 12 from the field.  Senior Emma Martin drained a triple for the first VSU field goal since the final minute of the first quarter and a 27-19 lead with 5:49 left in the half.  
 
UWG would pull within 27-24 on a layup off her own missed shot from Tolbert with 4:08 to go, but the Lady Blazers had the answer with two buckets inside from Curry and a layup off a theft from senior Kalifa Ford for a 33-25 lead and a timeout by the Wolves with 1:59 to play.  Searcey scored an "and one" for a 36-27 lead with 35 seconds left and Tolbert scored off a steal at the buzzer for a 36-29 VSU lead at the break.
 
For the half, VSU shot 46.9 percent on 15 of 32 from the field, while it was 5 of 12 from deep and 1 of 1 from the line.  UWG was 12 of 30 from the field, 0 of 7 from distance and 5 of 8 from the line. UWG held a 16-12 lead in rebounding.  Individually, Long had a team-high nine points on her three triples in the first quarter, while Powell had ten points off the bench for the Wolves on 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line.  
 
A 3-pointer by UWG, the first made three of the game for the Wolves, and two quick buckets erased the VSU lead tying the game at 36 just two minutes into the third quarter.  A steal from Searcey and a bucket in transition by Ford ended the run with 7:37 to play in the frame.  Dunning tied the game at 38 with 5:40 to play in the quarter, but a hard-working Searcey was fouled at the other end making two free throws for a 40-38 lead.  With the shot clock at two, Searcey banked one home to earn the old fashion three-point play and a 43-38 lead with 4:22 to play in the third.  
 
Despite both teams missing a lot of shots in the third, the VSU defense continued to clamp down and forced UWG into nine turnovers and a 13-4 lead in points off turnovers for the quarter.  Searcey drained a triple for a 46-40 lead with less than a minute in the frame and the first field goal for VSU since the 4:24 mark as VSU held a 46-40 lead through three frames.  For the game, VSU would force UWG into 21 turnovers and hold a 15-9 lead in points off turnovers.
 
UWG's Calie Thrower scored on the bank shot for a 46-42 VSU lead with 9:51 to play in the game and the first Wolves' point since the 3:48 mark in the third quarter.  A big 3-pointer from Aliyah Washington pulled UWG within 46-45, but Curry scored inside at the other end.  A bucket from Tolbert trimmed the deficit to 48-47 with under five minutes to play.   UWG would call a timeout with 3:49 to play trailing 48-47 as VSU had not scored since the 7:15 mark.  Out of the stoppage, a foul was called on VSU and Washington made one free throw to tie the game.  Ford answered with two free throws for a 50-48 lead with 3:22 to play.  
 
Tolbert made one of two free throws cutting the VSU lead back to one at 50-49, but a costly turnover by the Lady Blazers in the backcourt and Washington made the pay with a triple for a 52-50 UWG lead with 1:30 to play for the first lead by the Wolves since it was 1-0 just nine seconds into the game.
 
The game saw four ties and three lead changes.   For the second half, VSU went just 5 of 29 from the field in the and 1 of 9 from beyond the arc, but made up for it going 7 of 8 from the line for the final two frames, needing every charity toss.  UWG wasn't much better in the final half as it was 8 of 24 from the field, 3 of 7 from distance and 4 of 6 from the line.