PENSACOLA, Fla. - A challenging road stretch continues this weekend in Pensacola, Fla., as the Valdosta State Lady Blazers load up and head to the gulf to face the West Florida Argonauts on Saturday afternoon.
West Florida (11-3, 8-2 GSC) enters the weekend on the heels of a narrow 63-60 loss to the West Georgia Wolves on Monday night. The loss was just their third of the 2014-15 season overall and marked the team's second loss in Gulf South Conference play. Despite having so few losses on the year, Monday night's slip on the road was enough to drop the team out of first place, as the Union Bulldogs reclaimed the top position with a 9-2 conference record.
The Lady Blazers (8-8, 4-5 GSC) head into Saturday's matchup in desparate need of a win. The month of January has not been kind to Valdosta State, and the team is still searching for their first victory of the 2015 calendar year. The nature of the the last four losses for Head Coach
Kiley Hill and his squad have made the recent slide especially difficult, as three of those contests have been decided by two points or fewer.
During the current four game skid, the Lady Blazers have actually improved their rebounding numbers and free throw percentage when compared to the 12 games before the holiday break. Prior to the break, VSU averaged 37.1 rebounds per game and a 65.2 percent shooting percentage from the free throw line. In contrast, the last four games have seen the Lady Blazers improve to 37.5 in rebounds per game and a 75 percent shooting percentage.
Despite the recent improvement in the aforementioned statistical categories, the teams' struggles can be directly attributed to a plummet in offensive production. In the first six GSC matchups for VSU this season, the Lady Blazers went 4-2 with a shooting percentage of 46.7 from the field and a 43.4 from three point range. Since then, the team has posted in 0-4 record and has seen their percentages fall to 39.1 from the field and 19.0 from long distance.
The Lady Blazers will tipoff at 3:00 p.m. EST on Saturday afternoon, with live coverage of all the action provided at www.vstateblazers.com. For live updates throughout the contest, Blazer Nation can also turn to Twitter and the Valdosta State Athletics official Twitter handle (@BlazerAthletics).
