THE BASICS:
SCORE: Valdosta State 77, Paine 49
RECORDS:Valdosta State 5-3, Paine 0-8
LOCATION:Augusta, Ga.
THE LEAD: A strong second quarter propelled the visiting Valdosta State women's basketball team to a 77-49 victory Thursday evening at Paine. Three Lady Blazers scored double-figures led by a team-high 16 points off the bench from senior Kendra Green.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The first quarter was tightly contested as VSU led by as many as four at 15-11 on a pair of sophomore Kayla Bonilla charity tosses late in the frame, but Paine responded for a 19-18 Blazer lead at the end of one.
- Freshman Kaya Frey and Green scored the first five points of the second quarter as VSU used a 9-0 run for a 28-18 lead with 7:57 left in the half.
- The Lions roared back, cutting the deficit to five at 32-27 on a jumper from Zhane Green with 3:23 remaining, but the Lady Blazers ended the half on a 10-4 run for a 42-31 lead at intermission.
- Junior Nari Garner swelled the lead to 19 on a triple at 55-36 with 3:39 left in the third and two free throws from senior Shon Kitchens put VSU up 21 at 57-36 moments later.
- Garner later hit a jumper on a fast break for a 77-48 lead with 35 seconds left in the game for the largest lead of the game at 29 as VSU won 77-49.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- VSU shot 48.1 percent for the opening half on 13 of 27, while going 4 of 7 from range and 12 of 15 from the line.
- The Lady Blazers dominated the rebounding 17-9, while holding Paine to 37.5 percent shooting on 12 of 32. Paine was 4 of 12 from beyond the arc and just 3 of 4 from the line as VSU had just five fouls in the half.
- Green had 10 points in the half on 2 of 3 from the field, two triples and 4 of 4 from the line, while Keondra Archie paced the Lions with 16 points on 7 of 10 with one triple and one free throw.
- For the game, VSU shot 41.7 percent on 25 of 60, while going 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and 21 of 34 from the stripe.
- The Lady Blazers dominated the glass, 58-34 and scored 23 points off 21 offensive rebounds, while scoring 20 points off 19 Lion miscues.
- Green finished the game 5 of 8 from the field with two triples, while senior Crystal Townsend recorded 10 rebounds and four offensive boards.
- VSU outscored Paine 35-18 in the second half and 58-31 over the final three quarters.
- Paine went 18 of 65 from the field (.277), while going 6 of 23 from range and 7 of 16 from the line. The Lions shot just 6 of 33 from the field in the second half.
- Archie had a game-high 22 points on 9 of 15 from the field with two triples and two free throws for a double-double with 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT:
- VSU returns home to host Georgia Southwestern Wednesday at 6 p.m. at The Complex for the final game before the Christmas break.
- Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.
