VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 23 Valdosta State Lady Blazer basketball team makes its first road trip of the season with a pair of games in the Sunshine State this week.  VSU travels to Palm Beach Atlantic for a 5:30 p.m. tip Monday, followed by a 2 p.m. game Tuesday at Lynn.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  Check back with the site for a complete recap following each game.
 
VSU enters the week at 2-0 following a pair of wins over Albany State and Fort Valley State the first weekend of the season (Nov. 9-10).  The team has had just over a week to prepare for the road trip.  In the two games last week, VSU posted a 71-52 win over Fort Valley State and then fought off a pesky Albany State squad for a 65-53 victory.
 
For the week, VSU shot .342 from the field on 41 of 120 as it missed a number of easy looks, but went 17 of 51 from beyond the arc (.333) and 37 of 59 from the line (.627).  The Lady Blazers averaged 49.0 rebounds per game and 68.0 points per contest.  Turnovers were a problem, however, as VSU had 36 for the two games for an 18.0 average, but forced 44 miscues.  The opposition shot .356 from the field on 37 of 104, but went just 10 of 43 from beyond the arc (.233) and 21 of 37 from the line (.568).  VSU held the opponents to 34.0 rebounding and 52.5 points per game.
 
Individually, senior Kendra Green led the team averaging 14.0 points per game on 9 of 22 (.409) and 4 of 9 from deep (.444), but she struggled from the line, going 6 of 11.  Green also was key on the glass averaging 8.0 rebounds per game.  Sophomore Kayla Bonilla was second in scoring at 12.0 points per game as she was 5 of 11 from the field, with three triples and went a team-best 11 of 12 from the line. Bonilla had six assists and four steals for the week.  Senior Sonya Franklin and junior Nari Garner also averaged double figures at 10.5 and 10.0 points, respectively.  Senior Crystal Townsend averaged 9.5 rebounds and had 12 offensive rebounds as she averaged seven points in the two games.
 
VSU head coach Carley Kuhns is in her third year at the helm of the Lady Blazers as she has had back-to-back 20-plus win seasons and is 47-19 overall and 31-11 in Gulf South Conference play.  Kuhns guided the Lady Blazers to the Gulf South Conference Tournament title her first season and back-to-back NCAA appearances.  The Lady Blazers were picked second in the preseason GSC Poll, released in October behind league-favorite Union, who VSU opens league play with at The Complex, Nov. 29.  
 
Palm Beach Atlantic is 0-1 on the season after a 73-56 loss to Benedict on Saturday.  In the game, the Sailfish trailed 22-13 after one quarter and trailed 40-36 at halftime.  Benedict used a 25-12 third quarter to pull away for the win.  PBA shot 18 of 63 from the field (.286) and was just 2 of 21 from beyond the arc, while going 18 of 24 from the line for the game.  Jonika Garvin had a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Ciara Cumbie added 13 points.  Aniyah Ross narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Benedict shot 40 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc, while dominating the glass 56-34. 
 
The Sailfish did win an exhibition game at Division I Florida International with a 66-63 decision on Nov. 9. FIU had a 48-40 lead late in the third quarter, but PBA capped the frame with a 9-0 run for a 49-48 lead with one quarter to play.  PBA held a six-point lead with three minutes left and a steal and free throw with 14 seconds left gave the Sailfish the win.
 
PBA was picked 11^thin the Preseason Sunshine State Conference Poll as Manisha Redus begins her first year as head coach.  Last season, the Sailfish went 4-22 and lost their last 10 games of the season.  Redus is no stranger to the GSC as she spent the last three years as an assistant coach at West Georgia.  She also was at Montevallo and played four year at Alabama, graduating in 2005.  
 
This will be the first meeting between VSU and PBA since the Sailfish won 89-83 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Nov. 26, 2016, at the Nova Southeastern Thanksgiving Classic.  For the game, three Lady Blazers scored 20 or more points as Franklin had 20 points on 7 of 13 from the field with one triple and 5 of 8 from the line.  Along with Franklin, Jazmyn McIntosh and Maddy Corazza also saw action in the previous meeting.
 
Lynn enters at 3-0 as VSU will be the first NCAA Division II opponent of the season for the Fighting Knights.  Lynn downed Johnson & Wales (Fla.) 66-62, St. Thomas (Fla.) 68-53 and Florida National 59-55 so far.
 
For the Fighting Knights, the team is averaging 64.3 points per game, while allowing 56.7.  Lynn is shooting 42.4 percent from the field on 72 of 170, while going 15 of 44 from beyond the arc (.341) and 34 of 55 from the line (.618). The Fighting Knights are averaging 42.3 rebounds per game, 3.3 blocks per contest and 8.0 steals per game. Lynn is averaging 24.3 turnovers per contest.  Conversely, the opposition is shooting .337 percent from the field on 60 of 178, while going 11 of 44 from beyond the arc (.250) and are 39 of 53 from the line (.736). Lynn is allowing 31.3 rebounds per game, forcing 20 turnovers per contest and allowing 14.7 steals per game.
 
Individually, Kelsi Fizer is leading the team at 13.0 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. Fizer is 16 of 37 from the field (.432) and 7 of 13 from the line.  Sydney Fields is second in scoring at 12.3 points per game on 16 of 30 from the field (.533).  She is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.  Also averaging 12.3 points per game is Jaylen Snipes as she leads the team at 10 of 12 from the line, while averaging 5.3 assists per game.  
 
Lynn was picked tenth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll and the Fighting Knights are under the direction of fourth year head coach Julia Huddleston.  
 
This will be the first meeting with Lynn since VSU won 58-56 in The Complex on Dec. 22, 2013.  In the game, two clutch free throws by the Lady Blazers and a steal in the final 16 seconds allowed VSU to claim the victory. 
Following the two games this week, VSU returns home to prepare for conference play beginning Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at The Complex against league-favorite Union.  The Lady Blazers' season ended in heartbreaking fashion to Union in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last season, 74-73.