PENSACOLA, Fla. – Shami Goodman scored 30 points and led the University of West Florida women's basketball team (5-2, 1-0) to a 67-58 win over No. 23 Valdosta State (4-2, 0-1) in the Gulf South conference opener at the UWF Field House on Saturday. West Florida's defense shone again on Saturday evening, holding the Lady Blazers to 33 percent shooting from the floor and holding the opposition 12 points below their season average.
 
Goodman scored her UWF career high with 30 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe while knocking down three three-pointers. Goodman also added four rebounds and four assists. But she was far from the only standout on Saturday, as Belle Bistrow scored 12 points with a pair of triples, Halee Nieman and Chloe Branch each scored 10 points, and Courtney Meyer grabbed 16 rebounds and had two blocks.
 
UWF opened the match with a 7-0 lead, but Valdosta State rallied back to tie the match at 13-13. The Argos finished the first quarter with a jumper from Goodman and settled the score at 15-13.
 
West Florida would start the second on a 9-0 run, but VSU buried a jumper with six seconds left in the half, giving the Lady Blazers a 29-28 halftime lead.
 
Valdosta State would keep the lead for most of the third period, but the Argos took it back at 43-42 with only 59 seconds left in the quarter. The Argos started the last quarter strong with a 10-0 run, and scored 23 points in the last quarter against Valdosta State's 16.
 
The second half turned things around for UWF, as the Argonauts outrebounded VSU 24-19, forced six turnovers, blocked four shots and converted 14 free throws to outscore the Lady Blazers 39-29. Goodman went off for 18 points and went 9-of-11 at the free throw line in the final 30 minutes to push West Florida ahead.
 
West Florida will visit Tuskegee on Tuesday, December 5, before getting a bit of a break and continuing conference play on December 16 and 18, against West Alabama and Montevallo in the UWF Field House.