VALDOSTA, Ga.–  Fresh off a 72-65 win over Shorter on Saturday, the Valdosta State women's basketball team returns to the road this week as it travels to Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery.  The trip begins a stretch of four of the next five games away from home.
 
VSU will play at Montevallo on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET, while facing Auburn Montgomery Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.  Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.  The games also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Spencer Van Horn having the call.  Check back with vstateblazers.com following the games for a complete recap and stats.  
 
The Lady Blazers (12-6, 6-4 GSC) are coming off a split this past week with a disappointing home loss to West Georgia (70-65) and the win over Shorter.  Senior Maddy Corazza paced the team averaging 16.0 points per game in the two contests, while going 14 of 26 from the field (.538) with three triples. Senior Crystal Townsend averaged 14.5 points and tied for the team-lead in rebounding at 6.0.  Sophomore Kayla Bonilla averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, while recording a team-high 11 assists.  VSU shot .482 from the field on 53 of 110, while struggling from beyond the arc at just 6 of 28 (.214) and went 25 of 43 from the line (.581).  VSU averaged 36.0 rebounds and allowed 29.0 rebounds per game, while averaging 68.5 points and allowing 67.5 per game.
 
Heading into the week, VSU sits fifth in the league standings with a 6-4 record.  Montevallo has a half-game lead on VSU (6-3), while West Florida is third at 7-3 and Union and Lee are tied for first each with a 9-1 record.  VSU leads West Georgia and Alabama Huntsville by a half-game as both are 5-4.  
 
VSU is ninth this week in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball South Region Top Ten as voted on by select sports information directors from the region.  The Lady Blazers were ninth last week and tied for eighth the week before in the rankings.  This Union is second, followed by Lee and West Florida is fifth among GSC teams. Florida Southern leads the rankings.
 
Montevallo enters with a 10-7 record overall and the 6-3 mark in the GSC.  UM won 61-56 over Auburn Montgomery its last time out and is 2-3 in its last five games.   The Falcons are averaging 63.9 points per game and allowing 62.7, while shooting .389 from the field and .315 from beyond the arc.  UM is at a .677 clip from the line, while averaging 40.2 rebounds per game and allowing 35.8 per contest.  Individually, Nautika Philpot leads the team averaging 13.9 points per game.  She is 86 of 211 from the field (.408), while also leading the team from deep on 27 of 75 triples (.360).  Philpot is second on the team in made free throws (38-47) for a team-best .809 clip.  Kourtnie Smith leads the team averaging 8.5 rebounds per game and is third in scoring at 8.9 points per game.  Aaliyah Rice is second in scoring at 9.1 points per game.  
 
Auburn Montgomery is 2-15 overall and 1-8 in GSC play and doesn't play a game Thursday before welcoming the Lady Blazers on Saturday.  AUM has won two of its last three after opening the season 0-14.  AUM lost 61-56 at Montevallo last Saturday in its last game, after wins at Shorter (49-48) and at home against Fort Valley State (59-45).  Individually, Jordan Brewster leads the team averaging 16.1 points per game as she is 96 of 241 from the field (.398) and 71 of 191 from beyond the arc (.372).  No other Warhawk is in double figures, but Evelina Avleeva leads the team averaging 8.1 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.5 points per game.  As a team, the Warhawks are shooting .344 from the field, .257 from beyond the arc and .634 from the line.  They are averaging 37 rebounds per game and allowing 41 per contest, while scoring 50.4 points per game and allowing 60.8.  
 
For the season, VSU is shooting .395 from the field on 418 of 1059, while going 93 of 306 (.304) from beyond the arc and 231 of 375 from the line (.616).  VSU is averaging 41.5 rebounds per game, while allowing 34.3. The Lady Blazers are scoring 64.4 points per game and allowing 58.7.  
 
Nationally speaking, VSU is 44^thnationally and second in the league in offensive rebounds at 15 per contest, while ranking 22^ndin rebounds with 747 for second in the league and ranks third in the league in rebounds per game at 41.5 for 50^thnationally.  VSU's 58.7 points against per game average ranks fourth in the league and 42^ndnationally, while VSU ranks 59^thnationally in steals with 163.  Bonilla is fourth in the GSC in assists with 62, while Townsend is fourth in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3). Junior Nari Garner is fourth in the league in 3-point field goals attempted (99) and sixth in 3-point field goals made (31).  
 
Following the two games this weekend, the Blazers return home to host Montevallo on Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. at The Complex, before heading back on the road to open February at West Georgia and at Shorter.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for updates on all of VSU's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams.