VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind five players in double figures and a double-double from sophomore Erin Whalen, the Valdosta State women's basketball team clinched a Gulf South Conference Postseason Championship berth with a 78-45 victory Thursday evening over visiting Auburn Montgomery.
 
With the win, VSU improved to 16-11 overall and 11-10 in Gulf South Conference play, while AUM fell to 10-11 overall and 12-14 in league play.  Whalen finished with 16 points on 7 of 18 from the field, and 2 of 3 from the line, while pulling down a career-high 16 rebounds and a career-high five steals.  Senior Kiersten Nelson added 15 points on 7 of 12 from the field, while senior Jillian Schenk added 14 points off the bench on 5 of 7 from the field and 4 of 6 from distance.  Juniors Mary McMorris and Aryana Hicks each had 12 points. The Lady Blazers shot 50.8 percent on 32 of 63 from the field, while they were 5 of 14 from distance and 9 of 11 from the line. 
 
AUM had a team-high 17 points in double figures from Carrington Jones on 7 of 15 from the field, 2 of 5 from deep and 1 of 1 from the line.  The Warhawks shot 30.5 percent from the field, while they were 4 of 18 from distance and 5 of 6 from the line.
 
Lady Blazer senior Jacey Justice opened the scoring for VSU with a bucket inside on the first possession as the Lady Blazers took an early 2-0 lead. AUM came right back with a triple from Allasha Dudley to take the lead at 3-2 as AUM's leading scorer finished with just six points in the game.  Valdosta State would jump out to an 8-3 lead on a 6-0 run as the Lady Blazers held the Warhawks scoreless for nearly five minutes heading to the media timeout with 4:18 left in the first quarter. 
 
Auburn Montgomery would come out of the timeout like they were shot as it went on a 7-3 run to even things at 10-10 with 2:29 remaining in the quarter. Nelson broke the tie with a strong layup with her right. Following a strong defensive possession, Mary McMorris drove the baseline and found Jillian Schenk wide open on the right wing as she drilled it to give the Lady Blazers a 15-10 lead after a quarter of play.
 
Schenk would open the scoring in the second with another triple, this time at the top of the key as VSU was leading 18-10. AUM battled back at the other end with a layup from Gabby Litvak and a three from Jones, and an "and one" from Dudley as things were all square at 18-18 with 7:07 left in the quarter.  The Warhawks would extend the run to 10-0 until Whalen ended the scoring drought on back-to-back layups tying the game at 22 with 5:16 left in the half. 
 
Jones continued her dominance for AUM as she scored her 11^th and 12^th points of the night as the Warhawks led 30-28 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter as VSU head coach Chandler Merkerson called a quick timeout.  Nelson would lay one in with four seconds to go as the Lady Blazers trailed the Warhawks 34-32 at the break.
 
Jones led all scorers with 12 points on 5 of 8 from the floor and 2 of 4 from deep while dishing out two assists. Whalen continued her strong play at home as she led the Lady Blazers in scoring with ten points and seven rebounds while poking away at a steal. Nelson was not too far behind in scoring as the New Orleans native had eight points in the paint on an efficient 4 of 6 from the field. Both teams shot well from the field as AUM was 14 of 31 for a .452 clip while VSU was 15 of 29 for a .517 clip. Each team committed seven turnovers while Auburn Montgomery was 4 of 11 from deep as Valdosta State was 2 of 5.
 
Justice started the second half just like the first, except this time it was a triple in the left corner as jumped ahead 35-34.  A strong defensive possession forced an AUM corner as VSU took advantage with a layup from Nelson inside to extend the lean to three. Following a jumper from the Warhawks, Whalen got nifty with a layup from her off-hand to push it back to three.  Valdosta State would balloon the lead to 45-36 as they opened the second half on a 13-2 to run over the first 5:03 of the frame.  The Lady Blazer defense would hold steady as they had forced four turnovers with 3:40 left in the third. The Warhawks would finally end the drought on a layup inside from Samya Brooks trimming the VSU lead to 48-38.  The Complex erupted as Schenk got lost in transition and drilled a triple from the right wing as the lead had grown to 53-38 with 1:29 left in quarter.  Whalen drilled a pair of free throws at the end of the quarter as VSU outscored AUM 23-4 in the third quarter, holding a 55-38 lead heading into the final frame.  VSU outscored AUM 44-11 in the second half and 23-7 in the fourth quarter.  
 
The fourth quarter continued at the same pace as Whalen showed off some razzle dazzle with a sweet behind the back pass to Hicks for a layup as the lead grew to 21 with 8:54 left in the game. The clamps were evident in the fourth quarter two as Auburn Montgomery was held scoreless for the first 2:47 with the Lady Blazers in the midst of a 10-0 run to open the quarter.  AUM would score its first field goal nearly halfway through the half as VSU led 67-41 with 5:04 left in the game as VSU went on for the 78-45 victory.  
 
VSU concludes the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Complex for Senior Day versus Montevallo.