VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Lady Blazers (2-1) fell 74-71 tonight to Georgia Southwestern (1-2) in a thriller at the Complex. The Blazers were outscored 53-41 over three quarters before storming back behind a 30-point team effort in the final period to lose by three.
Sophomore Amaya Broadus gave VSU its first lead of the game courtesy of a nice dish from freshman Kendall Dykstra for a 6-4 lead with six minutes remaining in the first quarter. GSW tied the game at six with a Kassidy Neal layup with 5:12 remaining in the quarter. A 3-pointer from GSW's Madison Brittle gave the Lady 'Canes a 9-8 lead with 4:58 left in the opening frame.
Broadus scored her third bucket of the game on a nice pass from senior Aryana Hicks, pulling VSU within 11-10, but a block by GSW and triple from Janiya Johnson gave GSW its largest lead of the game at 14-10 with 2:30 to play in the quarter. The third triple for the Lady Canes and the second from Brittle gave GSW a 17-10 lead. A bucket from junior Erin Whalen and another from sophomore Ka'Miah Pryor pulled VSU within 17-14 in the final minute of the frame. Neal scored inside for a 19-14 GSW lead through ten minutes.
VSU shot 7 of 15 from the field for the opening frame, while it was 0 of 1 from distance and 0 of 3 from the line. GSW was 8 of 15 from the field for 53.3 percent, while it was 3 of 6 from deep and 0 for 2 from the line.
A bucket from Neal and one from Brittle gave GSW its largest lead of the game early in the second quarter at 23-14. A free throw from sophomore Alina Sapilak and a jumper following a turnover trimmed the GSW lead to 23-17, but the Lady 'Canes continued to find easy sledding inside for a 27-17 lead and a timeout by the Lady Blazers. The fourth 3-pointer of the half by GSW pushed its lead to 11 at 30-19 with just over five minutes remaining in the half, marking the largest deficit of the season for the Lady Blazers.
Hicks scored off a turnover by GSW and then dished to Sapilak for a mid-range jumper, pulling VSU back within seven at 30-23 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Broadus scored inside, trimming the deficit back to seven and then down to five behind a nice mid-range jumper from sophomore Alina Martin, 34-29. GSW used good ball movement to create and hit a triple, their fifth of the half, for a 37-29 Lady 'Canes lead at the break.
VSU shot 43.8 percent for the half on 14 of 32 from the field, while it was 0 of 3 from distance and just 1 of 5 from the line. GSW shot 55.2 percent from the field on 16 of 29, while it was 5 of 12 from deep and 0 of 2 from the line. Johnson and Brittle each had ten points for GSW, while Broadus had eight for the Lady Blazers on 4 of 7 from the field and four rebounds.
Dykstra earned the "and one" following a jump ball on the opening possession of the second half for a 37-32 deficit. GSW hit its sixth triple of the game for a 44-34 lead, but Whalen answered at the other end with the first 3-pointer of the game for the Lady Blazers, cutting the deficit back to seven at 44-37 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
Whalen scored her seventh point of the game, pulling VSU within five, but the Lady Blazers were unable to get the stop at the other end as Neal registered her 15th point, pushing the lead back to seven at 46-39 with 3:16 left in the third. GSW made its first two free throws of the day for a 48-39 lead with 3:04 remaining in the third, taking just two prior attempts at the charity stripe. GSW's Tiara Hozumi pushed the lead to 12 at 51-39 and a timeout by VSU. GSW held a 53-41 lead through 30 minutes.
With the shot clock winding down, Pryor scored earning an extra free throw to pull VSU within 53-44 with 9:26 to play, but the Lady Blazers were unable to get a stop at the other end as Johnson scored her 12th point of the game. Broadus scored inside from Hicks pulling VSU within nine, once again, with seven minutes to go. Pryor took a charge at the other end as the Lady Blazers had a chance to cut further into the deficit with Hicks scoring her 14th point, but Johnson earned the old fashion 3-point play at the other end for a 64-54 score and 6:22 to play.
Broadus scored inside on Hicks' seventh dish and Whalen had a steal and layup, but Brittle buried a corner 3-pointer pushing the lead back to nine at 67-58 with 5:35 to play. Jackson had her fifth block, but Martin gathered the rebound and scored. Dykstra had a steal and was hacked on the way to the bucket, making two free throws for a 67-62 deficit with 4:46 to play.
Junior Raeanne Eccleston cashed in on two shots at the line toward a 67-64 deficit and a 6-0 run by the Lady Blazers. A steal by Eccleson and layup from Hicks cut the deficit to one and made it an 8-0 run at a 67-66 score. A miss from GSW gave VSU a chance at the lead for the first time since 8-6 in the first quarter. Eccleston scored inside and VSU took a 68-67 lead with 2:57 to play. Hozumi put the Lady Canes back in front with a jumper from the free throw line.
Hicks scored a crucial jumper for her 18th point pulling VSU within 72-70 and Whalen came up with a steal, but the Lady Blazers missed the attempt with a big rebound from Jackson with 45.2 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, GSW drained some clock down to less than 15 ticks. Eccleston came up with her sixth rebound with 9.9 seconds remaining, trailing 72-70.
The Lady Blazers earned a huge stop and took off down the floor, resulting in a loose ball fought hardly for by both sides. It was called VSU ball on the floor but the GSW staff would petition the officials to take a closer look. The call was reversed with 10.5 seconds remaining. GSW called a timeout to advance the ball as VSU had to foul three times to get GSW to the line with seven seconds remaining. Ray'ven Robinson made two free throws for a 74-70 score.
VSU advanced the ball following a timeout and Whalen missed a triple, but the Lady Blazers were fouled as the clock expired forcing another review to see if the foul came before the clock expired or not. Following the review, the referees put 1.4 seconds on the clock. Whalen earned two free throws, made the first and purposely missed the second, but Shane' Jackson came down with the rebound for GSW to end the game, 74-71.
Hicks paced the Lady Blazer offense with an efficient 18 points on 9-14 shooting, having over half her scoring come in the final period. Hicks also added a team-high eight assists and a steal. Broadus was second on the team in scoring with 12 points on 6-12 shooting and added six rebounds, a category she tied with Eccleston to lead the team in. Whalen and Martin grabbed two steals each in the loss.
The Lady Blazers are back in action on Nov. 25 at Lynn University and will return home to host Embry-Riddle on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. at The Complex. Information regarding streaming options, live stats, and more can be found on vstateblazers.com.
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