VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off the Christmas Break, the No. 22 Valdosta State women's basketball team returns to action Friday at Alabama Huntsville at 3 p.m. ET, and then on Sunday, Jan. 2, at 3 p.m. ET at West Alabama.  VSU is 9-2 on the year and 4-1 in Gulf South Conference play.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The games also will be broadcast on the radio on 94.3 WJEM in Valdosta and on foxsportsvaldosta.com with Spencer Van Horn having the call.  Check back with vstateblazers.com following the games for complete recaps and stats.
 
Alabama Huntsville enters the game at 1-8 overall and 0-4 in Gulf South Conference play.  The Chargers have dropped four-straight contests, following a 95-66 victory over Milligan on Nov. 29.  Selena Pruitt leads the team averaging 11.9 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per contest.  She is 44 of 109 from the field and a team-best 15 of 40 from deep.  She has a team-high 27 assists and 15 steals this season.  Alexis Woods averages 11.3 points per game and Miajah Bullock is at 10.2 points per game.  
 
The Chargers are shooting .414 from the field this season on 201 of 465, while they are 37 of 137 from beyond the arc (.270) and 81 of 121 from the line.  UAH is averaging 29.1 rebounds per game and allowing 39.9 per contest, while scoring 57.8 points per game and allowing 68.2 per game.
 
Head coach Andrea Lemmond is in her eighth season at the helm of the Chargers as she is 86-106 at UAH.  She is 2-7 against VSU during her time at UAH.  Last season, Lemmond led the team to an 8-8 record and a berth in the Gulf South Conference postseason for the sixth time during her tenure.
 
VSU leads the all-time series 37-15, but the teams haven't played since Dec. 15, 2019, where UAH won 64-58 in Valdosta.  Prior to that, VSU had won four-straight and seven of eight.  
 
UWA enters the week with a 9-3 record overall and a 3-1 mark in GSC play and will entertain West Florida on Friday, before VSU visits Sunday.  The Tigers are coming off victories before the break at West Georgia (67-46) and at home versus Shorter (83-68).  
 
The Tigers are led by Tazsa Garrett-Hammett who leads the team averaging 15.7 points per game.  She is 63 of 114 from the field (.571), while going 42 of 54 from the line (.788).  Bria Dent is averaging a double-double with 14.3 points per game for second on team and a team-high 10.2 rebounds per game.  Dent is 70 of 131 from the field (.534) and 26 of 40 from the line (.650).  She has a team-high 31 steals on the year, while Jaia Williams leads the team with 59 assists and second in steals with 26.  Williams is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game.  
 
As a team, the Tigers are shooting at a .465 clip on 312 of 671 from the field, while they are 34 of 163 from deep (.209) and 182 of 264 from the line (.689) making two more free throws than the opposition has attempted (180).  UWA is averaging 70.0 points per game and allowing 55.6, while pulling down 41.2 rebounds per game and giving up 33.1 per contest.
 
UWA head coach Rusty Cram is in his eighth season at the helm of the Tigers.  He is 82-113 at UWA and 321-343 overall in 24 years of coaching.  He was the head coach at Georgia Southern for 16 years.  Cram is 4-7 during his time at UWA against VSU.  
 
The Lady Blazers have won 12 of the last 19 games in the series dating back to 2011.  UWA won the last meeting, a 76-67 decision in Valdosta on Feb. 22, 2020.  VSU has won five of the last seven in the series.
 
VSU is under the direction of third-year head coach Deandra Schirmer who is 45-17 at VSU and 30-13 in GSC play.  This season, the Lady Blazers are shooting .429 from the field on 261 of 609, while going 67 of 220 from beyond the arc (.305) and 162 of 248 from the line (.653).  VSU is averaging 68.3 points per game and allowing 54.0 points per game.  The Lady Blazers are averaging 39.7 rebounds per game and allowing 31.6 per contest.
 
Individually, graduate student Kwajelin Farrar is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game.  She is 72 of 129 from the field (.558) and has 29 assists for second on the team and a team-high 11 blocks.  Graduate student Nicole Heyn is second in scoring at 11.5 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per contest.  Heyn is 30 of 72 from the field and 13 of 30 from beyond the arc, while she has a team-high 22 steals on the year.  
 
Following the two games in Alabama, VSU continues on the road Jan. 8 at West Florida, before returning home to host Delta State on Jan. 13 and Mississippi College on Jan. 15 for Hall of Fame Weekend.