VALDOSTA – While it was far from their best offensive game, the Valdosta State Lady Blazers once again relied on their defense to get the job done.

Hosting No. 5 seed Montevallo in the Gulf South Conference quarterfinals, the Blazers edged the feisty Falcons 71-66 in overtime on Super Tuesday.

Redshirt senior guard Jirah Ards led the way with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Blazers. Ards shot 7 of 10 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free throw line in 38 minutes.

Following a 3-pointer by Montevallo’s Michaella Edwards that put the Falcons ahead 59-58 with 1:15 left in regulation, it was Ards who provided the offensive lift to send the game to overtime.

Montevallo had a chance to increase the lead at the free throw line but McCarley Northway clanked both shot attempts with 39 seconds left as VSU called timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Blazers drew up a play for 3-point specialist Emma Martin. The shot was off the mark, but Ards corralled the rebound and drew a foul on the way up for the put-back attempt. Ards missed the first free throw but hit the second to tie the game at 59 with 24 seconds remaining.

On the final possession of regulation, Montevallo leading scorer Marisa Snodgrass sized up Martin at the top of the key as she held for the last shot.

The smaller, quicker Snodgrass attacked and got the step on Martin – slashing into the lane for a floater about 11 feet from the basket. Just as the shot was about to leave Snodgrass’ hands, Martin recovered to get a piece of the shot from behind – sending The Complex into hysteria.

Martin, primarily known for her outside shooting prowess, prevailed with her height at 5-11 combined with her long arms to disrupt the final shot and send the game to overtime.

“Everybody does something,” Ards said. “Even if they’re not scoring for us on the court, everybody’s working and everybody’s a tough player. Emma, I’m so proud of her for that block. Even though she got beat on the drive, Emma’s always there. She blocks our shots in practice, so I kind of expected that.”

In the overtime period, the Blazers protected their lead by aggressively attacking the basket. While they struggled at the foul line much of the night, the attempts played into the Blazers’ hands. The team finished 18 of 28 overall, but went 7 of 15 in overtime.

Sophomore center Kate Tanner narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds along with three blocks in the game.

Tanner went 2 of 4 from the free throw line in overtime, finishing 6 of 8 from the line overall. Her free throws set the tone for the overtime period as the Blazers never trailed the rest of the way.

A layup by Montevallo’s Shyan Flack cut the VSU lead to 64-62 with 2:28 left in overtime.

On the next VSU possession, the Blazers sank the dagger in the hearts of the Falcons as junior Tamiya Francis knocked down a 3-pointer near the left corner off a kick-out pass from Tanner to push the lead to five with 2:13 remaining.

“What this team has displayed is that they have hearts of champions,” VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “They know what it takes to win. They know that it’s gritty. They know sometimes it’s not gonna be pretty. Sometimes, we’re not hitting shots but it’s the perseverance when you’re not hitting shots. It’s sticking to the game plan even though they were lighting us up from 3 in the first half. It’s having that poise down the stretch.

“The block by Emma Martin was a big play at the end of regulation, but also, the offensive rebound here to tie the game was a huge play by Jirah Ards. It was big play after big play and we’re always thankful to have The Complex. It was rocking in here. The crowd also played a huge factor. There were a lot of missed free throws from the other team so all in all, it was a group effort but it was really making sure that we were poised down the stretch and we were able to persevere.”

The Blazers struggled mightily from the 3-point line all game – shooting just 3 of 19 – but Francis accounted for two of the 3-point hits. The Toronto, Ontario native finished with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals in 44 minutes of action.

Reserve center Aleisha Curry had 11 points off the VSU bench.

Northway led the Falcons with 15 points and 14 rebounds while Edwards knocked down five triples in the game for 15 points of her own. Flack added 12 points and Savannah Cook chipped in with 10 off the Montevallo bench.

Snodgrass, who fouled out on the first possession of overtime, finished with nine points in the contest – shooting 2 of 11 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

In the previous matchup between the two teams Feb. 16, Snodgrass hit the Blazers for 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting with four 3-pointers.

The Blazers trailed 34-29 at halftime as the Falcons were red-hot from beyond the arc, going 8 of 16 from deep. However, after halftime, the Blazers made the Falcons’ long-range looks more difficult as they shot just 2 of 13 from 3-point land the rest of the way.

“They got way too many wide open shots (in the first half), so we talked about making them put it on the floor – not just closing out with a high hand. They’re gonna hit that shot so we had to make them put it on the floor,” Schirmer said. “And in that, you saw a little bit more fouls from us because we were hand checking but making that adjustment at halftime (was key).

“All year, our defense has been solid and our defense has been how we win games. We’re top of the conference in defense, but we’re nowhere near the top in offense so we’ve got to rely on that defense. We talked about defensive rebounding and we were getting outrebounded in the first half as well, so it was making those adjustments at halftime, really getting back to the gritty plays and making sure that we’re staying disciplined throughout those defensive plays.”

UP NEXT

The Blazers advance to the semifinals of the Gulf South Conference Tournament against a familiar foe in No. 1-seed Lee.

The Blazers dropped both meetings with the Flames in the regular season, falling most recently 59-50 in Cleveland, Tenn. on Jan. 14.

“We always talk about taking back Birmingham. We do the TBB because we’ve had some not so great moments in Birmingham – losing in the conference tournament last year,” Schirmer said. “We want to put our own mark on it. We want to take back Birmingham. We want to make sure that we show what Valdosta State Lady Blazer basketball is all about and we put a good effort forward in those games.”

Tip-off for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET from the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.