In their first home game in two weeks, the Valdosta State Lady Blazers earned a 63-46 victory over in-state rival West Georgia on Saturday night.

Senior Brittany Ferguson, who entered the night as the Gulf South Conference’s fourth leading scorer, was in her normal-form, recording 25 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Sczeny Hartry added 13 points in a starting roll.

“(Brittany) has been very consistent for us,” Valdosta State head coach Kiley Hill said. “She is really enjoying playing and enjoying the journey of her senior year. She has done that from the very beginning.”

Despite the strong performance from Ferguson, the Lady Blazers struggled at times, which, according to Hill, was due to the quick turnaround from Thursday night’s road trip to Alabama. VSU didn’t get home until 3:30 a.m. Friday morning.

“That first part of the basketball game, I think the travel was a big piece (of the struggles),” Hill said. “We got back at 3:30 in the morning. We had a light prep Friday night, because our kids went to class and did the things they needed to do. I thought our kids did a great job being mentally, physically and emotionally tough.”

The Lady Blazers started the game 0-5 from the floor, failing to make their first field goal until the 15:33 mark, which came on a Hartry 3-pointer. West Georgia was not much better, finishing the half just four of 17 from the field. The Lady Wolves’ saw eight first half points come from the charity stripe.

The Lady Blazers eventually caught fire, using a 14-3 run to grab a 23-13 lead. VSU eventually spread its lead to 13 points, 29-16, at halftime.

“We had to kind of wake up again,” Hill said. “We got slapped around a little bit and then put ourselves in a position to win.”

Valdosta State excelled in transition, scoring 12 points in the opening half off West Georgia turnovers. VSU also recorded 12 points on second chance opportunities. VSU finished the night with 14 points off UWG turnovers.

The Lady Blazers also recorded 18 offensive rebounds, 41 total. West Georgia finished the night with just 29 rebounds.

“Those are the things that we preach as a team,” Hill said.

In the second half, VSU and West Georgia stayed even throughout, as the Lady Blazers outscored the Wolves by just 34-30 points in the half. West Georgia brought VSU’s lead to 11 points with 12:58 to play, but the Lady Blazers quickly re-built a lead that got as large as 20 points.

The Lady Blazers return to action Thursday  when they host Flagler. College in non-conference action.