VALDOSTA, Ga. – The University of West Florida women’s basketball team (7-11, 0-4 GSC) fell, 69-57, to the Lady Blazers of Valdosta State (9-8, 3-1 GSC) tonight in Valdosta, Ga. The loss was UWF’s sixth straight and fourth Gulf South Conference defeat. Jessica Young led the Argonauts with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
UWF went up 6-2 on a layup by Octavia Bearden (Tylertown, Miss.) with 18:14 remaining in the first half. The four point lead would be the largest lead for the Argos for the night. A three-pointer by Lauren Fagler (Gainesville) tied the game, 11-11, at 13:47. UWF would struggle the rest of the half, scoring only two more points in the 13:47 stretch. A layup by Jessica Young (Hillsboro, Ala.) made the score 22-13, Valdosta State, with 5:55 remaining in the half. The Lady Blazers went into the half with a 30-13 lead. In the last 13:47 of the first half, UWF made only one of 18 attempted field goals. In the first half, Young had four points and 10 rebounds. Sczeny Hartry had 17 points for Valdosta State.
A three-pointer by Emily Erland (Pegram, Tenn.) made the score 37-20, Valdosta State, with 16:52 remaining in the game. A seven-point Valdosta State run put the Lady Blazers up by 25, 51-26, with 12:48 remaining. A UWF seven-point run brought UWF within 20, down 55-35, with 9:18 left on the clock. Back-to-back free throws by Sher'Ryan Scott (Fort Deposit, Ala.) cut Valdosta State’s lead to 11, up 58-47, with 2:53 remaining. A layup by Chelsea Turgeon (Palm Harbor) with 28 seconds remaining made the score 65-54, Valdosta State. Erland hit a three at the buzzer as the Argos lost, 69-57.
For the Argonauts, Young was the leader with 17 points and 16 rebounds. It is the second time this season Young has recorded 16 rebounds. Freshman Kelseigh Hughes (Hammond, La.) played 32 minutes, three more minutes that she had played total in the previous 17 games combined. Scott added 12 points. Hartry led Valdosta State with 21 points. Brittany Daniels added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Blazers.
UWF will play its third straight road contest on Sunday, as the Argonauts travel to Jackson, Tenn., to face Lambuth. The game is slated to start at 2 p.m. (central) and will be game one of a double header with the UWF men’s team. The West Florida men and women will return to the UWF Field House on Thurs., Feb. 3rd, to host West Georgia. The women will start at 5 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7 p.m. Live stats for the Lambuth games and live video, stats and audio for the West Georgia games will be available on GoArgos.com.
For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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