VALDOSTA — With Lincoln Memorial coming to The Complex Monday, it was another win for Valdosta State women’s basketball team and another special night for senior Traci Newton.

Newton provided a spark for the Blazers, scoring a game-high 18 points in a 55-45 victory against Lincoln Memorial on a night when she had a spark of her own sitting in the stands.

Before the game, the senior captain huddled around one special group as she prepared her team for the challenge ahead, and following the game she was huddled around another special group.

Eight tiny sets of arms greeted Newton in a group hug as half of her kindergarten class from Sallas Mahone Elementary school was in attendance, cheering on their student-teacher.

“Oh my God, it was amazing,” Newton said. “They ask me about it every day in the classroom. It was good for them to actually get to see me run up and down the court. I was so glad to have their support here.”

Each time Newton hit a shot, a row and a half of youngsters and their parents stood to their feet.

“It just resonates what type of person she is,” VSU coach Kylie Hill said. “She galvanizes people. She brings people to the table and makes people better.”

During the Blazers’ previous game, Newton also had a memorable game scoring her 1,000 career point in a 64-61 win against West Georgia Saturday.

“It’s amazing, really,” Newton said “I know Candice Ferrell reached it last year and Candice is such an awesome player, it’s good to be in a category with her and so many other players that have reached 1,000.”

Newton had 1,008 points coming into the game against Lincoln Memorial and finished with 1,026.

“She’s just a consistent player and wants this team to keep going and win the region,” Hill said. “That’s the type of kid she is.”

Newton kept her shot going Monday, despite her and the rest of the Blazers’ first-half shooting woes.

VSU shot 35 percent from the field in the first half, scoring just 19 points. VSU had several open looks but wouldn’t throw the ball up. “It’s something we’ve been dealing with the last two or three weeks as a staff,” Hill said. “We’ve gotten our players so post-oriented that we’ve forgotten that we can score from the perimeter.

“In the second half we found out we can score from the perimeter a little bit. It took us 20 minutes to do it, but that’s fine.”

The Blazers’ lack of shooting also translated into lack of second chance points, which Hill said was their biggest weakness.

“We came out a little flat,” Newton said. “We weren’t really turning the ball over, our shots just weren’t falling. More importantly we weren’t going to the offensive boards.

“We had no second-chance opportunities. At halftime, coach told us that’s what we have to change, rebounding going after the offensive and defensive boards.”

In the first half VSU had just three offensive rebounds, all coming from its guards.

“We had three offensive boards, two by Nicole Jerrigan, who’s 5-foot-5, and one by Janelle Collazo, who is maybe 5-foot-4. I felt that was the difference.”’

They were able to overcome a flat first half in which fatigue from the West Georgia game carried over.

“We weren’t getting second-chance opportunities in the first half,” Hill said. “We were struggling emotionally and physically. We were drained after Saturday’s game.”