VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team (8-8, 5-5 Gulf South Conference) returned home and downed visiting Montevallo (3-12, 2-8 GSC) on Thursday evening 66-51 at The Complex. VSU was led in scoring by 13 points from junior Erin Whalen amongst three players in double figures. Whalen also paced the team with seven rebounds, while senior Aryana Hicks dished eight dimes, her highest total of the season.

Whalen finished 6 of 11 from the field, 1 of 4 from deep and tallied seven rebounds with five steals. Senior Aryana Hicks added ten points, eight assists and six steals, while junior Alina Sapilak chipped in ten points off the bench on 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep. As a team, VSU led wire-to-wire and shot 52.8 percent on 28 of 53 from the field as it shot 50 percent or better in each quarter.  The Lady Blazers were 4 of 13 from deep and 6 of 11 from the line. 

The Falcons, who dropped their sixth-straight game, shot 40.9 percent from the field on 18 of 44 from the floor, while they were 4 of 13 from deep and 11 of 16 from the line. VSU forced UM into 27 turnovers holding a 23-11 advantage in points off turnovers for the game. Aubrey Hendrix had 14 points for the Falcons, while Emily Mouser added 13 points.

Whalen scored off a steal and then hit a corner triple for a 7-0 lead through the first four minutes of the contest. Montevallo got on the board on a jumper from Hendrix for a 7-2 VSU lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter, which began a 6-0 run. Sophomore Ka'Miah Pryor answered at the other end snapping the mini run at 9-6 in favor of the Lady Blazers. Whalen then stretched the lead to 11-6 with a floater in the lane with just over two minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Two big buckets from freshman Rebecca Souverain pushed the lead back to seven at 15-8 with just over a minute remaining in the frame.  

The Lady Blazers opened the game 7 of 14 from the field for the first ten minutes and 1 of 5 from distance, while Montevallo was 4 of 9 from the field and 0-3 from deep, going 2 of 4 from the line.  

Early in the second, Hicks pushed the lead to eight at 18-10 for the largest lead of the game to that point. Sapilak hit a 3-pointer pushing the VSU lead to 21-12 with 7:53 left in the half, but Mouser matched it with another trey at the other end. Sapilak hit her second triple as VSU held a 28-19 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half, but UM trimmed the deficit with a 3-pointer from Hendrix to pull the Falcons within 28-22 with 4:15 to play. VSU held a 37-28 lead at the break.

For the half, the Lady Blazers shot 14 of 26 from the field (53.8), while they were 3 of 9 from deep and 6 of 9 from the line.  UM shot an even 50 percent on 10 of 20 from the field, while it was 2 of 6 from deep and 6 of 8 from the stripe. Sapilak paced the team with eight points off the bench, while Whalen had seven. Montevallo was led by 13 points from Mouser to lead all scorers.

A steal and score from Whalen pushed the Lady Blazer lead back to nine at 41-32 with seven minutes left in the third quarter leading to a timeout by the Falcons. Hicks and Souverain had a pair of nice buckets pushing the lead to 47-32 with 5:40 left in the third for the largest lead of the game. Sapilak worked in the paint for an offensive board and putback layup for a 49-33 lead and her tenth point of the game. VSU led 53-39 after three quarters of action.

A 3-pointer from Hendrix pulled UM within 53-42 with just over eight minutes to play, marking the first time the Lady Blazer lead had been under double digits since the 6:55 mark in the third quarter.  A nice steal and score from Whalen pushed the lead back over double-digits at 55-42, but UM's Kylee Norman hit a 3-pointer for a ten-point margin at the other end. Sophomore Raeanne Eccleston scored her sixth point of the game pushing the lead to 12 and Hicks scored in the paint for a 59-45 score with 5:48 to play. Freshman Chardae Rumph added five points in the closing stages as VSU went on to a 66-51 win.

Looking Forward

The Lady Blazers will shift their focus to Auburn-Montgomery (2-14, 2-8 GSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Join us at the Complex on First Responders Appreciation Day and be loud in support of your Lady Blazers! Fans can follow along with live stats on vstateblazers.com and live streaming on FloCollege.