VALDOSTA, Ga. – Riding high from their 32-point opening win against Auburn-Montgomery, the Georgia Southwestern women's basketball team was looking to ride the momentum they created on Sunday. The Blue & Gold did just that in their 67-60 win on the campus of Valdosta State University (2-1). The seven-point road victory was payback for a six-point loss at Valdosta State last season.
Senior Terra Branch, who led the GSW attack in the first half of Sunday's win, paced the Lady 'Canes' offense again on Tuesday night. The Athens native shot a scorching 75 percent from the field on the way to 22 points, which included three of four shooting from beyond the arc.
Branch was supported by fellow senior Tania Walters who chipped in 16 points of her own, which included a staggering 14 free throw attempts. The point guard also grabbed eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Guard Jessica Bivins, Sunday's leading scorer, also tallied ten points to give the Hurricanes three scorers in double digits.
Newcomer Adrian Randall flirted with a double-double for the second consecutive game. The Brooklyn native scored eight points and notched a game-high 14 rebounds against Valdosta State.
The three seniors helped GSW shoot 46.2% on 24 of 52 shooting from the field. The Lady 'Canes also won the rebounding battle by a margin of five rebounds and drew 23 personal fouls on the Lady Blazers.
After a deadlocked opening five minutes of the game, GSW would use a 27-10 run in the next twelve minutes to grab a stranglehold on the game. After grabbing the 17-point lead at the 3:54 mark, Valdosta State would chip away the lead to twelve points by halftime. The Lady Blazers were lead by Brittany Ferguson with ten points and eight rebounds in the first half.
The game's second half action opened with a 15 – 7 run by Valdosta State to cut the lead to four points halfway through the second frame. They would cut the GSW lead to one three minutes later, but a 19-13 run by the Blue & Gold to end the game would secure the 67-60 Lady 'Canes victory.
VSU's Brittany Ferguson matched her sensational first half with another quality half on her way to a game-high 23 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Maylisa Johnson and Kourtnee Williams each scored twelve points for the Lady Blazers in the losing effort.
The back-to-back wins give the Lady 'Canes a 2-0 start to the 2011-12 season. Coach Britsky and company are back in action on Friday, November 18th as they compete in the West Florida Tournament in Pensacola. Friday's match-up will be against West Alabama at 4:00 pm on the campus of the University of West Florida.