Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta State guard Taylor Buie handles the ball during the second half against West Georgia on Sunday at The Complex.

VALDOSTA –– The VSU women (13-6, 7-4 Gulf South Conference) mauled the West Georgia Wolves (10-8, 6-5) on the glass as they cruised to a 56-45 win on Sunday afternoon.

The Blazers had five players grab at least seven rebounds as they out-rebounded the Wolves 52-30, led by 11 from senior Kenya Samone’ Dixon.

Madi Mitchell paced the Blazers with 22 points and seven rebounds as the team played with just nine healthy players on Sunday. Senior Taylor Buie chipped in with 12 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the victory.

Blazer coach Carley Kuhns credited Buie and her fellow seniors for stepping up against the Wolves with the team shorthanded.

“I think (Buie’s) really put the team on her back being a very good floor general, running stuff and I think all three of our seniors absolutely took over that game,” Kuhns said. “Between Kenya, Madi Mitchell and Buie––all three of them made really big plays especially down the stretch. They put the team on their back, kept control of what was going on and I’m just proud of those three and our team’s effort.”

Despite the team’s defensive effort, the Wolves trailed by just five at the end of the third quarter. Back-to-back layups by Maddy Corazza and Mitchell opened up a 44-34 lead with 4:33 remaining. A pair of free throws by Mitchell extended the Blazer lead to 15 with 1:25 left to give VSU the breathing room it needed down the stretch.

According to Buie, after a rash of turnovers––13 to be exact––in the first half, taking care of the ball better in the second half helped them push the lead to double digits in the fourth.

“We started off the first half with 12 turnovers and that’s how (West Georgia) was scoring on offense,” Buie said. “It wasn’t our defense that was bad, it was us turning the ball over and then us having to play in transition. 

“So, we were just focused on taking care of the ball, executing our offense. We just had to calm down and that’s what we did in the fourth––we came together, made the easy play and we put points on the board in the fourth.”

The Blazers held the Wolves to 25 percent shooting while making 36 percent on the offensive end. With the win, the Blazers improved to 10-0 at home while moving into a tie with West Florida for fourth in the GSC standings.

“West Georgia is a big rivalry,” Kuhns said. “No matter how our seasons are going, we always know this is gonna be a grind out game. That’s what I told the team before the game––we knew we were gonna get this thing done on the defensive end, having the ability to get stops and owning the glass and I think we did that. I think we proved that in the second half…I’m just proud of our resilience and our effort in the second half.”

Jessica Brown led the Wolves with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting as the Wolves dropped their second game in a row and fell to sixth in GSC standings.

MITCHELL KEEPS ROLLING

After going for 22 points and seven rebounds against the Wolves on Sunday, Madi Mitchell is averaging 22.1 points and 9.4 rebounds over her last seven games. During the same span, Mitchell is shooting 57.1 percent (52-of-91) from the field and 84.2 percent at the free throw line (48-for-57).

UP NEXT

The VSU women travel to Huntsville, Ala. to open their two-game road trip against Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday before wrapping up against North Alabama on Saturday.

“It’s hard to get wins in this league…Anyone can beat anybody––our league has already proven that,” Kuhns said. “Winning at home is very important, protecting your home floor but now we’ve gotta go on the road and I don’t think we’ve done a good job of proving that we can win on the road and we’ve got to do that. 

“We’ve gotta start being some warriors and focusing on the next game ahead…I’m looking forward to a big, big road trip for us.”