VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers make a long awaited return to the friendly confines of The Complex on Thursday night, as the Lady Chargers of Alabama Huntsville come to town for another Gulf South Conference showdown.
The matchup represents the second of the season for the two teams, and Valdosta State holds the advantage after claiming a 65-60 victory over the Lady Chargers at Spragins Hall on December 6, 2014. In that contest, VSU used 52.9 percent three point shooting to account for 27 of their 65 points and took advantage of eight offensive rebounds to post 11 second chance points in the win.
The Lady Blazers will be gunning for a return to form on offense after suffering a slide in accuracy from the field in recent weeks. Valdosta State has dropped from second place to fourth place in scoring offense since the holiday break. Furthermore, the team was blanked from the three point line for the second time this season in last weekend's loss to West Florida. Their three point shooting percentage now stands at 29.5 percent, which marks the first time the percentage has fallen below the 30 percent mark this season.
On a more positive note, however, the Lady Blazers are putting up a competitive fight against some of the league's top teams, and have fallen by two points or fewer in three of the team's last five losses. With the average margin of defeat standing at just 3.6 points in January, a few minor tweaks could quickly shift momentum right back in favor of the red and black.
April Thomas and
Imari Simpson continue to serve as two of the top 15 scorers in the GSC with Thomas holding an average of 13.7 points per game and Simpson standing at 11.6 points per contest. The pair teamed up for 21 of VSU's 55 points in their last contest against the Argonauts and are expected to play a strong role in Valdosta State's push for rejuvenation on the offensive end of the floor during the second half of the GSC regular season schedule.
The Lady Blazers will tipoff at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday evening, 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).
