Albany Herald

Albany State sophomore April Thomas scored 18 points to lead the Lady Rams to victory against rival Valdosta State on Saturday.

ALBANY — Sophomore April Thomas scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Albany State women’s basketball team past Valdosta State late Saturday, 60-50.

The game was a rematch from the Nov. 20 meeting between the two teams, which the Lady Blazers won, 65-55.

With the victory, the Lady Rams improved to 2-5, while the Lady Blazers dropped to 7-3.

Albany State took advantage of Valdosta State’s low shooting percentage in the first half and led by as many as eight points.

The Lady Rams held a 25-22 advantage at halftime, however, the Lady Blazers used an 11-2 run to begin the second half and led 33-27 at the 15:27 mark.

After a timeout, the Lady Rams went on an 8-0 run — capped by a Thomas 3-pointer — to regain the lead at 35-33 with 11:53 left.

Valdosta State was able to tie the game at 43-43 with 5:06 remaining, but ASU ended the game on a 17-7 run to pull out the win.

Junior Kourtney Alexander added 13 points for the Lady Rams, including a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Senior Danielle Colson came off the bench to lead Albany State in rebounding with 11 and also chipped in five points.

The Lady Rams play again Thursday in their conference opener at Kentucky State at 5:30 p.m.

North Alabama snaps GSW’s winning streak

FLORENCE, Ala. — Georgia Southwestern lost for the first time in over a month Sunday when the Hurricanes fell apart late in a 74-65 loss at North Alabama.

GSW led 34-33 at halftime and took a seven-point lead early in the second half, but the host Lions pulled away late to snap a four-game winning streak for the Hurricanes, who hadn’t lost since Nov. 24 at home against North Alabama.

The Hurricanes (6-3) were led by Matt Shaw’s 17 points, while Jamon Hawkins chipped in 15 points and four steals, and Tyler Gunnett added 10 points.

GSW, which is 2-0 in the Peach Belt Conference for the first time in school history, resumes PBC play Thursday at home against USC Aiken.