CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University women's basketball team (8-6, 4-4 GSC) fell to Valdosta State (9-4, 4-3 GSC) in an overtime thriller at Sillers Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
 
Both team's defenses proved dominant early in the first quarter, with the score notched at 4-2 at the 6:28 mark. As each team's offense warmed up, Valdosta had the 15-11 edge at the end of the first quarter.
 
Trailing nearly the entire first half, the Lady Statesmen chipped away at a 5-point deficit early in the second quarter, eventually taking their first lead of the night, 27-26, on a Dakiya Toney layup off a VSU turnover with 1:02 left in the second quarter. Delta State took a narrow 27-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The second featured several lead changes and saw the Blazers take a 35-32 lead into the fourth quarter. Valdosta led 42-38 with just over four minutes to play, but Delta State tied the game three times, including when MaKenzie Hill sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded for regulation.
 
With the score tied at 48-48 at the beginning of overtime, Madi Kate Vuncannon drained a three, giving DSU the 51-48 advantage. The extra five minutes of play featured three ties. Toney tied the game with :02 left in the game on a layup, but VSU countered with a made bucket as time expired, taking the 60-58 victory.
 
Toney scored a career-high 11 points, going 5-for-7 from the field. Grace Watson recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Up next for the Lady Statesmen is a two-game conference road swing in the Volunteer State. The first stop features a contest against new-Gulf South Conference member Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Nashville, Tenn.