VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Lady Blazers of Valdosta State aim to kick off a new streak on Thursday night at The Complex, as they welcome the rival Lady Statesmen of Delta State to town for an important Gulf South Conference showdown.
 
The Lady Blazers (9-6) are coming in as one of three teams to currently hold a 6-3 record in Gulf South Conference play, which places Valdosta State in a three-way tie for second place, just one game behind the top ranked West Florida Argonauts. Meanwhile, the Delta State Lady Statesmen are in the midst of a 7-7 overall stint this season with a 4-5 conference record.
 
History has not been kind to the Lady Blazers in the all-time series between the two programs, as Delta State holds a 38-6 advantage over VSU. Valdosta State has enjoyed some success in 2016-17, however, and if Kenya Samone' Dixon's recent success is an indicator, Thursday night could help VSU push the series back in the right direction.
 
Samone' Dixon, a transfer for Valdosta State this season out of Baton Rouge, La., has been red hot over the course of VSU's last three games. Most recently in Valdosta State's win over West Alabama, the versatile forward connected for four three pointers in the first quarter alone, which led to eight overall threes in the game, just one shy of a school record. She scored a career-high 31 points in the game, which capped off a stellar week, during which she shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field and 55.9 percent 19-of-34 from the three point line.
 
The Lady Statesmen will bring their leading scorer, Alondrea Rush, to the table to try and take down the Lady Blazers. Rush, a 5-3 sophomore guard out of Horn Lake, Miss., is currently averaging 11.9 points per game. The Lady Statesmen have proven to be quite stingy on defense and have allowed fewer points per game than any other team in the GSC (55.6).
 
Tip time is slated for 6:00 p.m., with full coverage available at www.vstateblazers.com.