Valdosta State guard Tamiya Francis (1) brings the ball up during the second quarter against Eckerd Friday at The Complex. Francis made four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points in the Blazers' 88-58 loss to the Tritons.

CLINTON, Miss. – The Valdosta State women’s basketball team withstood a fourth quarter surge by Mississippi College for a thrilling 55-53 victory Monday evening.

Junior Tamiya Francis led the team with 16 points, while junior Emma Martin finished with 12 points – all on 3-pointers, including two huge triples down the stretch in the final quarter.

The Lady Blazers improved to 4-2 on the year and won their fourth-straight game, while improving to 3-1 in Gulf South Conference play. Mississippi College fell to 2-5 and 1-3 in league play.

After shooting a combined 14 of 27 from the field in the first half, VSU was just 6 of 28 in the second half from the field, but Martin buried her two biggest daggers from deep with under five minutes remaining on back-to-back possessions as MC had cut the deficit to one with six minutes to play for a 55-48 lead.

MC, wouldn’t go quietly, however, as it continued to chip away with a triple from Dezirae King and one of two free throws from Brett Gardner with 1:21 to play, but a turnover by the Lady Choctaws with two second left sealed the victory for VSU. The Lady Blazers forced MC into 16 turnovers for the game, none bigger than the last one, and held a 20-5 lead in points off turnovers as VSU had just eight miscues for the contest. Sophomore Taylor Searcey finished with a career-high seven thefts in the game.

Francis finished 7 of 15 from the field and 2 of 7 from deep, while Martin was 4 of 9 from the field and 4 of 8 from range earning Guardian Bank Lady Blazer Player of the Game honors. Junior Lili Long had a team-high five rebounds. As a team, VSU shot 20 of 55 from the field, 8 of 25 from range and 7 of 8 from the line in a game that saw four ties and six lead changes.

The Lady Choctaws were led by 16 points from Kyiah Julian on 4 of 8 from the field, 4 of 6 from deep, while going 4 of 4 from the line and seven rebounds. King went 3 of 8 from the field and 3 of 7 from deep with one free throw for ten points. As a team, MC shot 15 of 38 from the field, but were 9 of 18 from deep and 14 of 20 from the line. MC held a 38-25 lead on the boards.

VSU began the game fast, scoring the first five points and 11 of the first 14 for an 11-3 lead with 6:20 left in the first quarter. Three triples from Julian cut the deficit to one at 13-12 with 4:05 left in the first half, but senior Kendall Bollmer answered with a triple, but the fourth trey of the quarter from MC, this time by King, cut the VSU lead to 18-17 through one quarter.

MC took its first lead of the game early in the second on a layup from Karly Ivy, but senior Jirah Ards answered quickly at the other end. Later, MC broke a 26-26 score with another trey from King, but junior Lili Long drained one from long range after a bit of a scoring drought for a 29-29 score with 2:52 to play in the half. Francis dialed long distance for a 34-31 lead with 1:18 to play, followed by a triple from Martin. A steal from Searcey led to a bucket at the buzzer from Francis as VSU ended the half on an 8-0 run for a 39-31 lead at intermission.

Francis led the way with ten points at intermission and the Lady Blazers were 6 of 12 from deep, while going 14 of 27 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line. MC was 10 of 24 from the field for the first half, but was 6 of 11 from deep and 5 of 6 from the line.

VSU built the lead to 11 on a jumper from Francis at 43-32 with 4:34 left in the third and then Searcey scored two free throws for a 13-point cushion with 1:25 left in the quarter at 47-34. Gardner answered with a triple in the final minute for a 47-37 VSU lead through three frames. The teams had a combined 14 points in the third quarter (8-6) after the 70 points combined in the first two frames.

Searcey scored in the paint early in the fourth pushing the lead back to 11 at 49-38, but Julian sparked the final charge by MC with a triple starting a 10-0 run and capped by two free throws from Julian for a 49-48 VSU lead with 6:07 to play. Martin then hit her two dagger triples before the final run by the Lady Choctaws.

With the win, VSU ends the longest road trip of the regular season with two wins by a combined four points in the Magnolia State with tonight’s victory and Saturday’s 44-42 victory at Delta State. This marked the first time VSU has won both games during the regular season in Mississippi since the 2018-19 season and tonight’s win improved VSU to 22-12 all-time against MC. It also was the fifth win in Clinton in the last six meetings for an 8-5 record all-time there, while head coach Deandra Schirmer improved to 2-2 against MC and 66-23 at the helm of the Lady Blazers in her fourth season.

VSU now returns home to begin a three-game home stand before the Christmas Break with West Georgia visiting on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m., at The Complex in the Red Clay Rivalry Series.

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