VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team used a 3-pointer at the end of the first half to pull within one point, outscored visiting Delta State 24-15 in the fourth quarter and 44-32 in the second half for an important 70-62 victory Sunday afternoon at The Complex.
 
With the win, the Lady Blazers improved to 6-7 overall and 3-4 in Gulf South Conference play and won their third-straight game this week.  DSU dropped its third-straight game and fell to 7-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
 
Two free throws from Olivia Allen pulled DSU within 68-60 and an offensive rebound by the Lady Statesmen with 49.8 seconds remaining and a timeout followed.  Allen then scored on a reverse layup for a 68-62 deficit with 45.1 seconds remaining.  VSU called a timeout to advance the ball.  VSU drained the shot clock and sophomore Alina Martin was fouled making two free throws for a 70-62 score and 24 seconds left for the final scoring of the game.
 
The Lady Blazers had three players in double figures led by 18 points from junior Erin Whalen and 18 from freshman Chardae Rumph.  Whalen, who had just two points at halftime, scored 16 in the second half and went 7 of 13 from the field ,2 of 5 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line, while recording three rebounds.  Rumph was 6 of 8 from the field, 3 of 5 from deep and 3 of 3 from the line.  Senior Aryana Hicks added 15 points on a perfect 5 of 5 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line with four rebounds and four assists.  VSU shot an even 50 percent for the game on 22 of 44 from field, while it was 7 of 15 from deep and 19 of 22 from the line.  VSU held a 19-10 lead in points off turnovers.  VSU shot 13 of 21 from the field in the second half after opening the game 9 of 23 in the first half. 
 
Delta State had two players in double figures both off the bench with 15 points from Dakiya Toney on 7 of 13 from the field, but was 1 of 6 from the line, while Jariyah Williamson was 3 of 9 from the field, 2 of 5 from deep and 5 of 5 from the stripe for 13 points.  DSU shot 21 of 46 from the field for 45.7 percent while it was 6 of 11 from deep and 14 of 19 from the line.  VSU held DSU to just 11 of 26 from the field in the second half as DSU was 10 of 20 from the field in the opening half. 
 
The Lady Blazers hit two early 3's and held an 8-5 lead four minutes into the contest.  Sophomore Alina Martin hit a corner pocket triple for an 11-7 lead with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.  DSU countered with a triple from Jariyah Williamson cutting the VSU lead to 11-10 with just over four minutes left in the opening frame.  VSU opened the game 4 of 8 from the field through the first seven minutes with three triples, while DSU also was 4 of 8 from the field and two treys to that point. 
 
Another triple from Williamson stretched DSU's lead to 15-11 and an 8-0 run before Lady Blazer sophomore Ka'Miah Prior ended the run at the other end for a 15-13 score through ten minutes.  VSU finished the opening frame 5 of 12 from the field and 3 of 7 from distance, while DSU was 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. 
 
Lady Blazer senior Aryana Hicks hit one of two free throws, the first two attempts of the game for VSU, to pull the Lady Blazers within 24-22 with 3:33 remaining in the half in a very tightly contested second quarter with the game seeing two ties and three lead changes to that point.  The fouls started mounting for DSU as freshman Rebecca Souverain tied the game at 24 with three minutes remaining in the half.  Lady Statesmen Olivia Allen broke the 24-24 score with a 3-pointer and a 27-24 lead with 1:54 to play in the half.  VSU had not scored a field goal since Hicks' bucket with 5:18 to play in the frame.  DSU held a 30-26 lead through 20 minutes. 
 
VSU shot 9 of 23 from the field, while it was 3 of 8 from deep and 5 of 6 from the line for the first half.  DSU was 10 of 20 from the field, 4 of 7 from deep and 6 of 11 from the line.  Freshman Chardae Rumph had a team-high nine points for VSU, while DSU was led by nine points from Williamson on two triples and three free throws. 
 
A triple from DSU on its first possession of the second half gave it a 33-26 lead for its largest of the game.  Two free throws from the Lady Statesmen pushed the lead to nine and a 5-0 run to start the second half.  Junior Erin Whalen scored inside for a 37-28 deficit and the first bucket for VSU in over eight minutes of game time.  Whalen then scored again following a missed shot by DSU pulling within 37-30.  Whalen continued her strong play in the third quarter with her eighth point of the frame for a 41-34 deficit with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter.  Hicks earned the "and one" pulling VSU within 43-37 with 3:42 left in the third. 
 
A 3-pointer from Rumph pulled VSU back within six at 47-41 with less than a minute remaining in the quarter.  Following a missed shot by DSU, Hicks then was fouled at the other end, making both for a 47-43 deficit.  Rumph buried her third trey of the game for a 47-46 deficit through three quarters and her 15^th point of the game. 
 
Whalen scored inside giving VSU its first lead since 11-10 in the first quarter and a 48-47 score with 9:20 to play.  Rumph was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three tosses from a 53-51 VSU lead with seven minutes to play, giving her a VSU career-high 17 points.  A steal and fastbreak layup from Hicks gave VSU a 58-54 lead with under five minutes to play and a traveling call on DSU fired up the Lady Blazer bench and the home crowd with 4:38 to play.  Whalen drained a long one for a 61-54 lead out of the media timeout and the largest lead of the game for VSU with just over four minutes remaining stretching the scoring to 15-7 in the fourth quarter.  Whalen buried another triple for a 66-56 lead with three minutes to play. 
 
The Lady Blazers head on the road with games at Union on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET and at Christian Brothers on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. ET.  VSU returns home to host Montevallo on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m., at The Complex.