VALDOSTA – In their first game of the season, the Valdosta State women’s basketball team fell behind early and never recovered in an 88-58 loss to No. 11 Eckerd Friday night.

The Blazers (0-1) shot just 31.5% from the floor and committed 21 turnovers against the hot-shooting Tritons (1-0), who shot a crisp 55.6% overall, 11 of 24 from 3-point range and scored 30 points off turnovers in the game.

“They had a really great zone (defense) and they hit us with it in the second quarter and I felt like we really couldn’t score off of it,” VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer said. “Not only were we not scoring, but we were turning the ball over and in the first half, they had 22 points off the turnovers. I think that was really the story of the game – we weren’t able to adjust to their zone pressure.”

Ragnheidur Einarsdottir scored 17 points off the bench to lead four Tritons in double figures. Sofia Persson and Hannah Wentworth scored 16 points apeice while combining to go 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. Nicole Scales added 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks while point guard Lauryn Vieira stuff the stat sheet with eight points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals in 30 minutes.

The Tritons used a decisive 31-6 run spanning from the 2:44 mark of the first quarter to the 3:35 mark of the second quarter – transforming a 19-13 lead into a 33-point cushion on a 3-pointer by Cirkeline Rimdal.

The explosive scoring surge propelled the Tritons to a 32-12 second quarter that gave them a 58-27 at halftime.

In all, the Tritons made 9 of 13 field goals in the second quarter – 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and 8 of 10 from the free throw line to put the game out of reach.

“They went into a press zone and it was really effective,” Schirmer said. “What we’ve got to do a better job of is once we get a turnover, we can’t then double down and give up points because those are negative four-point swings that we can’t have. That’s something we’ve got to learn and those are first game jitters as far as don’t make one mistake snowball into more mistakes and you could see that in the second quarter. They really kind of snowballed on us.”

Despite the huge halftime hole, the Blazers continued to scrap and hustle and won the second half 31-30.

Sophomore guard Taylor Searcey notched the second double-double of her Blazer career Friday with 14 points and 11 rebounds – a career-best eight of them coming on the offensive glass. Searcey also dished a team-high five assists with seven turnovers in the loss.

“She’s got the heart of a champion and you see it every single time,” Schirmer said of Searcey. “She outworks every single person that’s on the court and I think that’s what really led us on our drive last year and that’s what we’re gonna need going into these tough games that we have to start the season.”

Sophomore guard India Jordan scored 12 points off the bench while junior point guard Tamiya Francis buried four triples for 12 points along with a pair of assists and four turnovers in the game.

While the Blazers struggled shooting overall, they hit 10 of 23 from 3-point range – shooting a higher percentage from 3 (43.5%) than from the floor (31.5%).

The Tritons outscored the Blazers 34-12 in the paint and 17-0 in fast break points – using their smothering zone to disrupt the Blazers’ dribble penetration and their size up front to affect shots around the rim.

“Early, they were pretty stout inside and then we started settling for threes,” Schirmer said. “For us, it’s got to be an inside-out attack. Even if they’re playing good defense to start off, if they’re doubling down and they take away our inside, then we’ve got to get those open shots and knock them down, quite frankly.

“The difference in the game when they’re getting out and scoring in transition, we’re not getting any easy buckets and that’s something where first game, we’re trying to get set in our offense and instead, I would’ve liked to see us get out and play a little bit.”

The Blazers dressed only eight players against the Tritons and were without the services of defensive ace Jirah Ards and newcomers Kalifa Ford and Aleisha Curry.

The Tritons capitalized on the Blazers’ thin bench, outscoring them 30-18.

“We were a little bit shorthanded tonight. We’re excited to get fully healthy and get our full team out here, but to face the No. 11 team in the country while being shorthanded and to fight and win the second half, I’m really, really proud of how our team responded.”

UP NEXT

The Blazers open Gulf South Conference play against No. 24 Lee Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.