LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Behind a team-high 17 points off the bench from junior Aleisha Curry, the Valdosta State women’s basketball team withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by West Alabama for a 66-63 road victory Thursday evening.
With the victory, VSU improved to 20-5 overall and 19-4 in Gulf South Conference play as Curry finished the night 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line with a team-high six rebounds to earn Guardian Bank Lady Blazer Player of the Game honors. The 17 points marked a season-high for Curry. Along with Curry, junior Tamiya Francis added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and sophomore Kate Tanner added ten points.
The Lady Blazers, who held the lead for much of the game, scored seven points in the final minute of the third quarter and a 7-2 run for a 56-46 heading into the final stanza. VSU pushed the lead to 12 points early in the fourth on a jumper from Francis with 7:06 to go. Junior Lili Long made a field goal with 4:49 to go putting VSU back up double-digits at 63-52 as it would be the last made field goal of the game for the Lady Blazers as the Tigers wouldn’t go away quietly.
From there, UWA used a 7-0 run to pull within 63-59 with 1:49 to go. One of two free throws from senior JIrah Ards put VSU up five at 64-59 with 42 seconds to play. The Tigers scored two free throws from Kamille Clark, pulling within 64-61 with 22 seconds to play. Once again, VSU went 1 of 2 from the line with 14 seconds to go for a 65-61 score. UWA’s Jala Williams scored inside for a 65-63 score and seven ticks left, but Curry made one of two from the stripe for a 66-63 lead. Williams’ desperation attempt at the buzzer was off target.
For the game, VSU shot 44.2 percent for the game on 23 of 52 from the field, while it was 4 of 15 from distance and 16 of 23 from the line. VSU who started the game 12 of 25 from the field in the first half and 8 of 15 from the field in the third quarter, was just 3 of 12 from the field in the final stanza, including 3 of 8 from the line. VSU held a 30-27 lead in rebounding.
The Tigers (13-14, 10-13 GSC) finished with a game-high 23 points from Williams on 10 of 15 from the field, while Bria Dent had 20 points and ten rebounds. UWA shot 48.1 percent for the gam on 25 of 52 from the floor, while it was 6 of 18 from deep and just 7 of 10 from the line.
Neither team garnered much of an advantage through the first quarter as Curry made the final bucket of the frame for a 15-13 lead. In the second quarter, Long drained one from distance giving VSU a 25-15 lead with 4:52 left in the half. Later, Francis connected from downtown for a 32-20 lead with 2:35 to go as VSU held a 32-24 lead at the break. In the third, UWA trimmed the deficit to as few as three at 44-41 on a triple from Takesia Barnes with 2:35 to go, before VSU used a 12-5 run to end the quarter.
The Lady Blazers travel to Alabama Huntsville for the 2022-23 regular season finale Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com. The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM in Valdosta with Spencer Van Horn having the call.