VALDOSTA, Ga. - On Thursday night, the Lady Blazers returned to the success that the team enjoyed early in the season, and they did so with a vengeance. This Saturday, Head Coach
Kiley Hill and his red and black contingent will gun for their second straight conference win in Valdosta, Ga. against the Lions of North Alabama.
The early minutes of VSU's midweek matchup against UAH didn't begin favorably for the Lady Blazers, who are celebrating their 40th year of VSU women's basketball this season. But with strong outings by both
Maggie Davis and
Amy Duke, the Lady Blazers began to click ten minutes into the contest. With a convincing display of confident play, Valdosta State synched up to pick up their first win of the 2015 calendar year.
The next order of business will be the rival North Alabama Lions, who enter the weekend in a tie for fifth place in the Gulf South Conference standings. At this point in the season, every league matchup is a critical one, and this weekend contest is no different, as both VSU and UNA are fighting for a spot in the fast approaching GSC Tournament.
Last time these rivals met, the Lions scored 29 of their 37 second half points within the final 13 minutes of regulation to overcome an 11 point halftime deficit and force the Lady Blazers to overtime. UNA carried their momentum into the extra frame and secured a 74-67 victory after outscoring VSU 13-6 in the overtime period.
In that contest, the Lady Blazers netted 27 of 50 shot attempts from the field to secure a 54.0 percent shooting percentage, their best of the season against a conference opponent. The effort was overshadowed by the team's highest turnover total of the current campaign.
The game marked just one of two contests that the Lady Blazers have lost this season when scoring more than 65 points. The other came in a recent two-point loss to West Alabama on January 12.
Valdosta State's success on Saturday night is expected to be heavily influenced by the performance of Duke and Davis. Thursday night's heroines also finished as two of the top scorers in the Lady Blazers' last matchup against the Lions, as the pair accounted for 33 of VSU's 67 points.
UNA's Jennifer Townes will be a key opponent to watch for on Saturday night. The 5'7" guard from Jonesboro, Ark. not only leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.2 points per game, she also represents one of the Lions' top rebounders. Her 5.5 rebounds per game place her second on the squad behind Mekena Randle, who averages 7.3 boards per contest.
Tickets will be available at the gate on Saturday, and those who can't make it to The Complex can follow the action live at www.vstateblazers.com.
