VALDOSTA, Ga. – Nia Johnson scored season-high 23 points to lead the No. 16 Delta State University women's basketball (12-1, 5-1 GSC) Valdosta State University (12-3-4-3 GSC) on Saturday at The Complex.

Zyaire Ewing chipped in 20 points with a game-high nine rebounds followed by Quantesha Patterson with 10 points.

THE BASICS:
Score: Delta State 66 | Valdosta State 59
Records: Lady Statesmen (13-1, 6-1 GSC) | Blazers (12-4, 4-4 GSC)
Series: Delta State leads 40-11
Location | Time: The Complex | 1 PM
Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateWBB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ernesha Chatman hit a 3-pointer and Ewing made a layup to stake the Lady Statesmen to an early 5-2 just 1:20 into the game.
• Nari Garner's layup capped a 7-0 run pushed the Blazers to a 9-5 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
• Johnson scored four points during a 6-0 spurt to give DSU a 16-15 lead at the 2:14 mark of the opening period.
• VSU closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 20-16 lead.
• Baskets by Ewing and Kirstin Brown tied the game 20-20 early in the second quarter \
• The Blazers ripped off a 7-0 run taking a 27-20 lead following a Cheray Saunders layup with 4:46 remaining in the second quarter.
• Ewing made a layup and two free throws to cut the deficit to 27-24 only to see Kayla Bonilla connect on a 3-pointer to make the score 30-24 with 1:24 to go in the second.
• Johnson scored the final four points of the half as DSU trailed 32-28 at halftime.
• Trailing 42-35 with 5:09 left in the third quarter, Ewing capped an 11-1 run to close the quarter with the Lady Statesmen holding a 46-43 lead.
• The 11-1 run turned into a 17-1 run after the Lady statesmen started the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to build the lead to 52-44.
• Valdosta State cut the lead to 55-50 before a Johnson layup stretched the lead back out to 59-50 with 3:39 to play in the fourth quarter.
• A Delaney Bernard 3-pointer cut the VSU deficit to 63-59 with 1:29 left before Ewing 3-point play with 38 seconds left gave DSU a 66-69 advantage.

TURNING POINT

• Trailing 42-35, the Lady Statesmen turned the game around with a 17-1 run spanning from the 5:09 mark of the third quarter to the 8:34 mark of the fourth quarter to give the Lady Statesmen a 52-43 lead.  

 
STATS OF THE GAME

• The Lady Statesmen outscored the Blazers 34-22 in the paint and had 12 second chance points.
• Delta State held the Blazers to 59 points, 12 points below their 71.6 scoring average.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Lady Statesmen collected their second straight win at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga., to lead the all-time series 40-11.
• Nia Johnson scored 23 points with three assists and three steals to lead the Lady Statesmen scoring.
• Ewing finished with 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
• Patterson scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Bonilla had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Blazers.
• Saunders and Bernard added 14 points apiece while Saunders finished with eight rebounds.

 
UP NEXT

• The Lady Statesmen returns to action against Union University on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland, Miss.