BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Valdosta State women's basketball senior Kayla Bonilla was named Gulf South Conference East Division Player of the Week and freshman Alexandria Smith earned GSC East Division Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday.  This marks the second-straight time VSU has swept the weekly honor with both Bonilla and Smith.
 
Bonilla and Smith highlighted another outstanding week for the Lady Blazers in a pair of victories over Auburn Montgomery this past Saturday and Sunday.  The duo helped lead VSU to a GSC-best 5-0 record thus far this season, marking the best start to a season for the Lady Blazers since the 2005-06 season and the longest winning streak since the 2017-18 campaign.  VSU defeated AUM 72-55 on Saturday and used an impressive 25-0 run from the latter stages of the second quarter through the first part of the third quarter for a 66-47 victory Sunday.
 
Bonilla, a native of Columbus, Ga., went a blistering 15 of 18 from the field (.833), 5 of 6 from behind the arc and 3 of 3 from the line, while recording six assists in the two games and two steals. She averaged 19.0 points for the week. Bonilla, who had just three points at halftime on Saturday, put on a show in the second half scoring 15 points and finished 7 of 9 from the floor and 18 points.  On Sunday, she continued her strong start to the season scoring 20 points on a season-best 8 of 9 shooting and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
 
For the season, she is 24^th nationally in scoring at 20.0 points per game for third in the GSC, while she leads the conference in made free throws (20) and third in free throw attempts (24).  She is 38^th nationally in made field goals and first in the conference (38-52) and is seventh nationally in field goal percentage at a 65.4 clip.  Bonilla leads the GSC in assists with 23 for 24^th nationally.
 
Smith, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, put together her first double-double of her career in Saturday's victory with a career-high 18 points and 15 rebounds.  She averaged 11.0 points per game for the week, going 7 of 14 from the field with one trey and 19 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.  Smith went 6 of 11 from the field, 1 of 2 from range and 5 of 6 from the line in the game on Saturday.
 
Smith is eighth in the GSC in rebounds this season with 33, while she is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.  She is third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game this season, while she is 17 of 40 from the field (.425) with three treys and 11 of 14 from the line (.786).  Smith sits second on the team in offensive rebounds with 11 and a 2.2 offensive rebound average per game. 
 
The Lady Blazers begin a four-game road trip with a pair of games at Shorter on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.  Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  Spencer Van Horn will have the coverage of the games on WJEM 94.3 FM Fox Sports Radio Valdosta and online at foxsportsvaldosta.com. 
 
Following the games this weekend, the Lady Blazers travel to Lee for a pair of games on Jan. 15-16, before returning home to host Shorter on Jan. 22-23.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for all things Lady Blazer basketball and on all of VSU's 12 intercollegiate athletic programs.