The Shorter Lady Hawks came up short, losing at Valdosta State, 77-67, in Gulf South Conference action on Thursday night.

Shorter (12-6, 9-5) took a quick 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game via a Shaundricka Mann layup. The Lady Hawks extended their lead to 9-2 less than two minutes later, before Valdosta State (10-9, 6-8) went on a 7-0 run, evening the score at nine. Over the remaining minutes of the opening period, the game remained close, with Shorter holding a slim two-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

With the game tied at 19 and 7:35 to go in the second quarter, the momentum swung in favor of the ladies from Valdosta State. The Lady Blazers went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-19 advantage. Taylor Adams' layup with 4:23 left in the period cut the VSU lead to five. Shorter would get as close as two, 28-26, due to a Shakierya McClendon layup with 3:29 to play. Valdosta State took a six-point lead with 1:08 remaining before Madison Rice connected from beyond the arc, cutting the Lady Blazers lead in half. Unfortunately, Valdosta State hit two three points before the clock hit zero, sending the Lady Hawks into the intermission trailing 38-29.

Shorter fell further behind in the third quarter as Valdosta State took its largest lead of the game, 45-31, with 6:12 to go in the period. The Lady Hawks battled back to pull within 11, 55-44, at the end of the third.

With 7:39 remaining in the contest, Shorter cut the deficit to eight points, 57-49, thanks to a free throw by Taylor Adams. The Lady Blazers increased their lead to 12 before Rice hit a three to bring SU within nine. After a VSU layup by Maggie Davis, McClendon made two layups with under a minute remaining to pull the Lady Hawks within six, 67-61. Unfortunately, it was not enough as the Lady Hawks of Shorter were downed by Valdosta State, 77-67.

McClendon led Shorter with 26 points. Adams recorded her 10th double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and collecting a game-high 19 rebounds. Aaliyah Cheatham led Valdosta State with 23 points.

The Lady Hawks shot 44.3% from the field, while the Lady Blazers made 46.2% of their shots. The Shorter ladies outrebounded Valdosta State 34-31, but attempted only 13 shots from the free throw line, compared to 26 for the Lady Blazers.

Shorter will be back on the hardwood on Saturday, as the Lady Hawks battle the West Florida Lady Argonauts. Tipoff is set for 3 PM EST from Pensacola, Florida.