ETTRICK, V.A. –  The Virginia State women's basketball team split the weekend as they were able to taste victory for the first time of the regular season 72-36 against Penn State Greater Allegheny but dropped a heart breaker to Alderson Broaddus 86-83.

 
How It Happened (Penn State Greater Allegheny)

• The first quarter of action saw the two teams go back-and-fourth with the score at 8-7 midway through the first quarter.
• Natalia Leaks scored two straight buckets to end the first quarter with the score at 12-8 in favor of the Trojans.
• VSU would open the second quarter with an 8-2 run powered by another six points from Leaks to make the 22-10 with 4:19 left in the half. 

 

• The Trojans allowed just two points in the second quarter of play as the hosts took a 26-10 lead into the locker room.

 

• Natalia Leaks single handedly outscored the opponent in the first half with 14 points and a game-high six rebounds at the half on 6-of-10 shooting along with four steals.
• The Trojans stretched their lead out to 26 points with the score at 41-15 half way through the third quarter.
• To end the third quarter, VSU went on their longest run of the season which was a 15-0 run to bring the score to 56-22.
• PSU-GA opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 to bring the score to 60-29 with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter.
• The Trojans were able to notch the first "W" in their win column this season beating PSU-GA 72-36.

 
Inside the Box Score (PSU-GA)
Natalia Leaks led the game in points (30) and rebounds (13) on 14-20 shooting.  Leaks set a new season-high for points, rebounds, field goals and field goal attempts. She also had a game-high four steals in the contest as well. Valerie Samuel had nine points and nine rebounds along with three steals while Kaaliya Williams accounted nine points and four rebounds. Sommer Blakemore finished with six points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists. The Trojans held PSU-GA to 20% from the field while also forcing 30 turnovers. VSU grabbed a season-high 57 rebounds and were able to turn those into 22 second chance points. The Trojans were also able to score 33 points off turnovers while accounting for 18 steals.


 
How It Happened (Alderson Broaddus)

• With Natalia Leaks inactive for game two of the Classic, Kaaliya Williams came out of the gate aggressive as she scored the first four points of the game for the Trojans. ABU went on an 11-0 run early in the first quarter until Valerie Samuel put on end to the run the run to make it 17-6 with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
• A 9-4 VSU run powered by a combined seven points from Samuel and Williams brought the ABU lead down to 21-13 with 3:08 left in the first quarter. Despite late scoring runs from the Trojans, the Battlers stayed ahead at the end the first quarter at 25-18.
• Six unanswered points from VSU brought the hosts to within one point with the score at 25-24 early in the first quarter.
• ABU would combat the Trojan comeback attempt with nine unanswered points of their own to stretch their lead out to 44-35 with 1:11 left to go in the half.

 

• The Battlers took a 50-36 lead into the locker room at half time.

 

• At the half, VSU was able to force 14 turnovers while getting some of ABU's key contributors in foul trouble after drawing 17 fouls in the first half. Valerie Samuel and Kamryn Anthony had nine apiece at the half while Kaaliya Williams had eight points with seven rebounds headed into the locker room.
• The second half saw the game get extremely out of hand after 13 unanswered points brought the ABU lead to 27 points with the score at 67-40 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
• Though the Trojans were still down 20+ points, they were able to cut the lead down to 21 at the end of the third quarter with the score at 74-53
• In the fourth quarter, the Trojans would go on one of the most prolific scoring runs in recent history as a 26-8 run put the Trojans ahead by one with score at 83-82 with :35 left to go in the game. Samuel led the comeback with 10 points within the scoring run along with a couple of key steals.
• ABU's Taylor Hannah hit a go-ahead layup with :27 left in the game. Sommer Blakemore would then attempt a three-pointer that rolled around the rim and fell out.
• ABU would hold on to the lead as time expired taking the win 86-83.

 
Inside the Box Score (ABU)
Valerie Samuel had a career day as she scored 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting along with six rebounds and three steals. Samuel went 10-15 from the charity stripe as well in the afternoon contest. Kamryn Anthony ended with 19 going 50% from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc along with a team-high five assists. Kaaliya Williams earned her second double-double of the season accounting for 13 points along with a team-high 10 rebounds. Bianca White scored a personal best 13 points along with yet another personal best nine rebounds. The Trojans were 61 % from the field and 78% from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. VSU forced 30 turnovers from ABU and was able to score 32 points from those turnovers. Virginia State's points came from the painted area or the free throw line as the hosts scored 44 points in the paint and made 23 free throws.
 
Up Next
 Virginia State will be back in front of their home crowd for a midweek matchup against the Dragons of Virginia University of Lynchburg. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.