VALDOSTA, Ga. - The
No. 23 ranked Valdosta State women's basketball team is geared up for the Gulf South Conference portion of their 2017-18 schedule, which is set to open up this weekend on the road in a 2017 GSC Championship rematch against the West Florida Argonauts.
The Lady Blazers will carry the momentum of two wins into Saturday's showdown, as Head Coach Carley Kuhns' program swept the competition last weekend during their trip to Washington State for the Western Washington Lynda Goodrich Classic. Valdosta State knocked off the host Vikings in a scrappy 59-56 Friday victory and followed on the next day with a lopsided triumph over Saint Martin's.
Madi Mitchell delivered a standout effort in the tournament to claim MVP honors on the weekend, while
Taylor Buie earned All-Tournament Team recognition after dropping a season-high 22 point performance against Saint Martin's in the weekend finale.
"We had an incredible time on that trip," said Kuhns. "We had a small group traveling together, and we really had a great opportunity to bond and spend a lot of time together, which was great for our team. I also think that the experience translated well to the court. I can see that our girls are starting to really enjoy each other. They are enjoying playing together more, and they are enjoying celebrating each other. Those things were evident in the way we played last weekend. We continuously reiterated to our team that they could have used every excuse in the book to lose. The weather changed and the time changed, but the girls grinded it out and defeated two tough programs. We still have work to do, but we are finding ways to win, which is always a good thing."
The three seniors on Valdosta State's squad have served as the core of Valdosta State's success so far this season. Along with Mitchell and Buie,
Kenya Samone' Dixon is finding ways to contribute. In fact, the Baton Rouge, La. native is currently ranked second in the league in rebounding and represents one of just two players to currently average double-digit figures with 10.4 boards per contest. Offensively, the trio of seniors is averaging 40.7 of VSU's team average of 73.0 points per game.
Valdosta State's upcoming opponent, the West Florida Argonauts, began the season as a nationally ranked team. Despite a 4-2 record and a dismissal from the national rankings since the start of the season, the Argonauts have seen a great deal of success on the offensive end of the ball. Thus far, UWF ranks third in the conference in scoring with an average of 78.2 points per game. Just like the Lady Blazers, the team is coming into the weekend skirmish with momentum on the heels of two wins over Saint Leo and Tuskegee. Unlike VSU, however, the Argonauts are in the midst of a stretch of home games, with the upcoming game against VSU marking their third straight contest inside the UWF Fieldhouse.
Statistically, UWF is led by Halee Niemann, a forward out of Midland, Mich., who currently ranks 8th in the GSC in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game. The junior's season high came in the season opener, when Niemann dropped 24 on Albany State in a neutral contest at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga. In terms of rebounding, Courtney Meyer is the only player that stands between VSU's Samone' Dixon and the top spot on the GSC rebounding leaderboard. Meyer leads the league with an average of 12.5 per game.
"It's pretty crazy that we're facing one of our biggest conference rivals just six games into the season," added Kuhns about the the weekend's highly anticipated GSC showdown. "It's an early test for us though. It's a chance for us to see where we match up in the conference. Both of us started the season nationally ranked, and this weekend's game will give us both an idea of where we are at and where we need to improve. This game will also give our new players a chance to discover early on what to expect throughout the entire conference season."
Tip time for Saturday's contest is slated for 3:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on Talk 92.1 FM in Valdosta or on www.talk921.com. In addition, links to all available forms of coverage can be found prior to tip-off via links available right here at www.vstateblazers.com.
