WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 9, 2012) - Valdosta
State was down 10 early in the second half, but came back with an
18-2 run as the six-seed Lady Blazers beat third-seed Fort Valley
State 59-47 Friday in the first game of the NCAA Division II South
Region Tournament.
VSU (21-7) advances to play the winner of No. 2 Florida Southern
and No. 7 Florida Tech at 5 p.m. Saturday March 10 in Winter Park,
Florida. Fort Valley State's season ends at 23-7.
Sczeny Hartry led three Lady Blazers in double figures with 20
points. She was 7-of-7 from the stripe and hit the 3-pointer to
spark VSU's run. Brittany Ferguson added 15 points while Brittney
Nelson tallied 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Yasheeka Jones led FVSU and all scorers with 21 points.
"That first 20 minutes was a struggle for both teams," said
Valdosta State Head Coach Kiley Hill. "In the second half, we
responded, not reacted. We could have folded after the first 20
minutes, but instead we responded; Sczeny's 3-pointer is what
started it for us."
The first half was an offensive struggle for both teams with the
Wildcats holding a 22-14 lead at intermission.
A Jones layup pushed FVSU's lead to 24-10, but VSU would score
the game's next 13 points and took a 29-26 advantage with 12:45 top
play.
Jayme Gilbert hit a runner to stop the run, but it was quickly
followed with a 5-0 spurt to keep Valdosta in control.
The Wildcats cut the lead to 34-32 at the 10:29 mark and were
down just one, 36-35 with 7:26 to play. Valdosta then began to pull
away down the stretch and led 53-43 with 90 seconds to play.
VSU shot just 17 percent in the first half, but ended the game
38 percent (18-47) and owned a 43-34 advantage on the glass. Fort
Valley hit 15-of-56 (26 percent) from the floor.
