VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming down the home stretch of the 2018-19 regular season, the Valdosta State women's basketball team makes its final road trip of the regular season this week as it travels to West Florida and West Alabama.  The Lady Blazers are 17-8 overall and 11-6 in Gulf South Conference play.  
 
VSU and West Florida clash at 6:30 p.m. ET in Pensacola, Fla., on Thursday as UWF enters with a 21-4 record and a 15-3 mark in conference play.  On Saturday, VSU heads to West Alabama for a 3 p.m. ET tip as UWA is 11-15 overall and 8-10 in league play.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The games also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Spencer Van Horn having call of the games.  
 
VSU has clinched a berth in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Championship, but the Lady Blazers still have some work to do to ensure a home game in the quarterfinal round on Mar. 5. Winning the remaining three games would ensure a home game.  VSU has a half game lead for fourth in the standings over Delta State and a full game lead over Alabama Huntsville.  VSU and Delta State split the season series, each winning on the opponent's home court, while the Lady Blazers won the only meeting with UAH.  
 
Union has a two-game lead on West Florida for the top spot in the standings at 17-1, while UWF is 15-3. The Argos own a half game lead on Lee (14-3), followed by VSU, Delta State, UAH and West Georgia sits two games behind UAH, each with three to play.  
 
The initial NCAA Region Rankings are scheduled to be announced Wednesday afternoon.  Check back with vstateblazers.com later this afternoon for a release following the announcement.  The 2019 NCAA South Regional will at the top-seed in the region when the NCAA Selection Show is announced on Mar. 10.  The regional is scheduled to run from Mar. 15-18, followed by the Elite Eight in Columbus, Ohio, Mar. 26-29.  
 
VSU is coming off a 1-1 record last weekend, defeating Mississippi College 63-55 at home and losing in a heartbreaker to Delta State, 70-66.  Sophomore Kayla Bonilla paced the team averaging 14.5 points per game on 9 of 23 from the field, 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and 7 of 10 from the line.  She had 11 assists to lead the team.  Senior Sonya Franklin averaged 12 points per game on 8 of 16 from the field with one trey and 7 of 8 from the line, while senior Maddy Corazza averaged 10 points per game on 7 of 21 from the field.  Senior Kendra Green averaged a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game.  
 
As a team, VSU shot .394 from the field on 41 of 104, while going 14 of 32 from beyond the arc (.438) and 33 of 42 from the line (.786).  VSU averaged 38 rebounds per game.  Conversely, the opposition shot .382 from the field, draining 10 triples and going 31 of 39 from the line.  VSU held the opponents to 32.5 rebounds per game.  
 
West Florida is No. 19 in D2SIDA Poll and not ranked or receiving votes in the latest WBCA Top 25. The Argos have won 11-straight dating back to 63-52 loss at Delta State on Jan. 10.  Then-top ranked Union handed UWF an 81-62 setback in Pensacola on Dec. 1 and VSU beat the Argos 68-58 on Jan. 3 in Valdosta for the only three league losses this season.  
 
As a team, the Argos are averaging 73.1 points per game and allowing 60.3, while shooting .454 from the field on 655 of 1443 and holding teams to a .370 clip on 574 of 1550. UWF is 183 of 500 from beyond the arc (.366) and holding teams to just .258 from distance on 130 of 503.  The Argos are at a .699 clip from the stripe and are averaging 43.6 rebounds per game, while holding the opposition to 31.6 rebounds per game.
 
Individually, Halee Nieman leads the team averaging 17.9 points per game on 153 of 296 for a .517 field goal percentage.  She is 41 of 108 from beyond the arc for second on the team, while going 101 of 148 from the line.  Toni Brewer averages a double-double with 17.8 points per game and a team-high 11.0 rebounds per contest.  Brewer is 169 of 351 from the field, while going 106 of 137 (.774) from the line. Belle Bistrow is third in scoring at 12.4 points per game.  She is 107 of 235 (.455) from the field and a team-best 75 of 176. (.426) from beyond the arc.  Anna Hall leads the team with 183 assists on the year for a 7.3 clip.  
 
Last time out against the Argos, VSU held UWF to its second-lowest scoring output of the season with 58 points as VSU won by ten.  VSU held UWF to just 23 of 63 from the field (.365) and 4 of 23 from beyond the arc (.174). VSU shot .418 from the field on 23 of 55, while going 6 of 15 from beyond the arc and held a 41-36 lead in rebounding. VSU used a 22-17 third quarter to stretch a five-point halftime lead to ten for the win. 
 
West Alabama enters the week with an 11-15 record overall and an 8-10 mark in league play.  The Tigers are battle for the final two playoff spots as there are four teams vying for the two spots.  West Georgia is 8-9 with three games left, while West Alabama has two remaining games, Montevallo has three games left at 7-10 and Christian Brothers has two left at 7-11.  
 
UWA's remaining games also are very important as the Tigers need wins to extend their season into March. UWA has dropped its last two games and three of four.  The Tigers are averaging 64.0 points per game, while allowing 67.7.  UWA is shooting at a .399 clip on 604 of 1514, while teams are shooting at a .408 clip on 636 of 1558.  The Tigers are .274 from beyond the arc on 117 of 427, while the opposition is 195 of 607 (.321) from range.  UWA is 338 of 569 from the line for a .594 clip, while averaging 39.3 rebounds per game and allowing 37.0.
 
Individually, Tazsa Garrett-Hammett leads the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game.  She is 82 of 185 from the field (.443) and 59 of 113 from the line to lead the team in free throws made.  She is second on the team in rebounding at 7.2 per game, while Bria Dent leads the team at a 7.5 mark.  Dent is second in scoring at 9.9 points per game on a team-high 96 of 213 (.451) from the field.  Parker McKenzie leads the team with 36 made 3-pointers on the year.  
 
In the first meeting, VSU couldn't overcome poor shooting in the final period, falling 67-54 and shot just 31.1 percent for the game on 19 of 61.  VSU battled back from a 39-32 halftime deficit for a 53-47 deficit through three quarters, but was outscored 14-7 in the final stanza as VSU was 2 of 13 from the field in the fourth quarter.  Corazza had a team-high 14 points, while Parker paced the Tigers with 20 points and Kierra Groce added 18 points off the bench. 
 
The Blazers are shooting .391 for the season on 565 of 1444, while going 131 of 417 from beyond the arc (.314) and are 320 of 511 from the line (.626).  VSU is averaging 41.5 rebounds per game and holding the opposition to 33.2 per contest.  The Lady Blazers are scoring 63.2 points per game and allowing 56.7 points per game.  
 
Bonilla leads the team averaging 12 points per game on 100 of 240 for a .417 average.  She is 22 of 63 from downtown and 78 of 106 from the line. Her 22 triples are second-most on the team, while her 78 free throws made leads the team.  She has a team-high 87 assists and she leads the team with 43 steals.  Senior Crystal Townsend is second in scoring at 11 points per game and leads the team averaging 7.2 rebounds per contest.  Townsend is 96 of 214 from the floor (.449) and has 21 triples, while going 61 of 83 from the line for a .735 clip.  Junior Nari Garner leads the team with 40 made 3's and has 48 buckets for the season.
 
Nationally speaking, VSU is 33^rdin the country in offensive rebounds per game at 15.0 per contest to lead the league.  VSU is 17^thnationally and second in the league rebounding margin at 8.3, while ranking 36^thin total rebounds with 1,038 for second in the GSC. VSU is 23^rdin scoring defense (56.7 points allowed per game) for second in the league, while the Lady Blazers are holding teams to a .275 clip from long range for 24^thnationally and third in the conference.  Townsend is third in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.0, while Bonilla is fifth in the league in both assists (87) and assists per game (3.5). 
 
Following the games, VSU returns home to host Auburn Montgomery on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. at The Complex for the regular season finale and Senior Night.