Valdosta State’s Brittney Nelson dribbles to the basket during the second half of Thursday night’s game against Delta State. Nelson recorded a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench in the Lady Blazers’ 50-42 win.

The Valdosta State women’s basketball team had yet to record a major marquee victory during the 2011-12 season.

The Lady Blazers got that marquee win Thursday night, downing the Delta State Lady Statesmen 50-42 in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams.

The victory was just the fifth time in school history VSU had defeated its conference rival. The victory also marked the first victory against the Lady Statesmen for VSU head coach Kiley Hill, who was 0-9 all-time against DSU.

“To have a win over a great perennial power like Delta State is tremendous,” Hill said. “They have kind of been that nemesis for us for years… It is not about me. It is about these kids. My focus is now getting us ready for Christian Brothers. But, when I get a chance to look back and reflect on this season, I will probably say, ‘That was wonderful.’ But we have a lot of conference play ahead of us.”

Junior Brittney Nelson, who made just her second career appearance in a Valdosta State uniform, led the way with 15 points, while snatching eight rebounds off the bench. Senior Brittany Ferguson added 12 points on the night, despite spending the majority of the game in foul trouble.

“My teammates just put me in the place that we had to be in,” Nelson said. “We ran our circle motion, and my teammates came through for me.”

Both teams struggled shooting early on. The two teams combined to go just 4 of 17 from the floor across the opening minutes of play.

Luckily for VSU, Nelson came to play. She     provided a much-needed spark for the Lady Blazers upon entering the game midway through the first half. Nelson led a commanding 12-2 Lady Blazer run, which sprung them out in front, 16-10.

Nelson started the Lady Blazers’ strong run with a 3-pointer, which was followed up by a Kourtnee Williams 3-pointer. On Delta State’s following possession, Nelson made her presence felt on the defensive end, forcing a DSU turnover. Nelson quickly made sure VSU capitalized on the turnover, as she nailed a wide-open 3-pointer on the other end.

Nelson continued her hot start, drawing a foul on a layup, which led to a three-point play for the Lady Blazers.

“She was tremendous,” Hill said. “Our go-to kids over the past month have been Brittany Ferguson and Sczeny Hartry, but Nelson allowed us to get a degree of separation when those two kids were simply not able to execute.”

Following the strong VSU run, which saw the Lady Blazers convert four of their six field goals, the Lady Blazers went ice cold, missing their next five shots. During the cold stretch for VSU, the Lady Statesmen put together a charge of their own, using a 6-0 run to even the game at 16-16.

Hartry was able to end the scoreless streak for VSU with a field goal from the lane. Williams then added a fast break layup to give VSU a 20-16 lead, before Nelson ended the first half scoring by nailing another 3-pointer, which gave VSU a 23-18 halftime lead.

In the opening half, both teams struggled from the floor. Delta State shot just 28 percent from the floor, while VSU shot just 34 percent. Both teams’ star players struggled. Ferguson and Hartry, who entered the game as VSU’s two leading scorers, combined for just four points. Delta State’s Veronica Walker was just 1 of 6 from the floor.

“Offensively, I think we set the game back about 30 years,” Hill said. “But defensively, I thought (both teams) played a pretty good basketball game.”

Valdosta State quickly added to its lead in the second half, using a Ferguson field goal to jump ahead 25-18. Then Walker took over for the Lady Statesmen, scoring on three straight possessions to trim VSU’s lead down to just one, 25-24.

The two teams stayed even for the next few minutes of game time, with Delta State evening the game at 27-27. The Lady Blazers started to rebuild their lead behind a pair of Jocelyn Danley free throws, which were followed up by a Danley field goal. The four-point swing by Danley gave VSU a 31-27 lead.

After a Delta State layup, the Lady Blazers used a Nelson 3-pointer and a Ferguson field goal to build a seven-point lead, 38-31.

The Lady Statesmen refused to go away, though, closing VSU’s lead to 38-36 with 5:33 remaining.

Valdosta State quickly responded. The Lady Blazers used a 12-6 run to finish out the game, converting four key free throws inside the final 40 seconds to secure the win. During the final run for VSU, the Lady Blazers were able to build their largest lead of the night (10 points).