VALDOSTA, Ga. – The quest for a Gulf South Conference East Division title continues this weekend as the No. 10 Valdosta State women's basketball team makes its final road trip of the regular season at Auburn Montgomery for two games.  VSU and AUM are scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET tip Friday and a 3 p.m. ET Saturday.
 
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 94.3 WJEM FM with Spencer Van Horn having the call and online at foxsportsvaldosta.com.
 
VSU had its second, seven-game winning streak of the season snapped Saturday at home to Montevallo as the Lady Blazers split the weekend series with the Falcons.  The Lady Blazers began the season winning their first seven games, before a 63-54 loss at then-No. 16 Lee on Jan. 15.  From there, VSU rattled off seven-straight wins prior to the 78-70 setback versus Montevallo Saturday.  It was the first home loss of the season for the Lady Blazers (7-1). 
 
Turnovers and points off turnovers were the theme of the doubleheader last weekend against Montevallo.  UM forced VSU into an uncharacteristic 53 turnovers for the two games and led 52-24 in points off turnovers for the two games combined.  UM had just 28 miscues for the weekend.
 
Countering the miscues by the Lady Blazers, VSU shot at a 49.5 clip from the field for a season-high for a weekend series on 52 of 105 from the field, while the team was 15 of 41 from beyond the arc (36.6) and 36 of 48 from the line for a 75.0 clip.  The Lady Blazers averaged 43.0 rebounds per game, while scoring 77.5 points per contest.  VSU held the Falcons to a 36.9 clip from the field on 52 of 141, while the Falcons were 9 of 37 from beyond the arc (24.3) and 36 of 50 from the line (72.0).  UM averaged 34.5 rebounds per game and scored 74.5 points per game. 
 
VSU also had a 64-47 win at West Florida on Feb. 2, prior to the Montevallo series, where the Lady Blazers had their first game of the season with two double-doubles as graduate student Kwajelin Farrar tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Jirah Ards had 14 points and ten rebounds in the game.  Four Lady Blazer starters were in double figures in the game as VSU shot 48.1 percent from the field and held a 40-31 lead in rebounding.  The Lady Blazers broke open a 26-22 halftime lead, outscoring UWF 38-26 in the second half, including 21-14 in the third quarter to pull away for the victory.
 
For the week, Farrar averaged a team-high 17.3 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game, earning Gulf South Conference Co-East Division Player of the Week honors.  She was 24 of 32 from the field for a 75.0 clip, while pulling down 34 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end.  She had seven assists, seven blocks and two steals.  Farrar had two more double-doubles in the three games, giving her nine for the season and three in the past four games.  Senior Kayla Bonilla averaged 16.7 points per game for the week, going 16 of 30 from the field (53.3) and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, while going a team-best 13 of 16 from the line.  Sophomore Jirah Ards averaged 13.0 points per game and led the team with 14 assists, while she was 13 of 26 from the field, while averaging 9.0 rebounds per game for second on the team.  Freshman Alexandria Smith averaged 10.7 points per game and shot 11 of 22 from the field with a team-high six treys, going 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. 
 
Coming down the home stretch, VSU holds a 3.5 game lead on Montevallo and has the season head-to-head series at 2-1, as the Lady Blazers are 14-2 on the year and 14-2 in GSC play.  Montevallo is 8-3 in GSC play and 8-4 overall.  Lee sits third in the East Division at 8-5 overall and in league play.  VSU has the two games at AUM this weekend and then a week off, before hosting West Florida for two games Feb. 26-27 to close the regular season.  Union has an 11-3 record overall and in league play to lead the West Division.
 
VSU fell to tenth in the newest WBCA Top 25, following the 2-1 record last week.  Lubbock Christian (Texas) took over the top spot in the rankings as Drury (Mo.) suffered its first defeat of the season.  Lander (S.C.) sits second, followed by Charleston (W.Va.), Drury and West Texas A&M rounds out the top five.  Minnesota-Duluth is sixth, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce, Hawaii Pacific, Fort Hays State (Kan.) and the Lady Blazers.   Union is among other teams receiving votes.
 
In the D2SIDA Top 25, VSU fell to 11^th this week from sixth last week.  Lubbock Christian is the top team in that poll, followed by Hawaii Pacific, Lander, Drury and Charleston.  Union is 19^th in the poll, while Montevallo is among others receiving votes.  VSU leads the D2SIDA South Region poll again this week, claiming five of the six first-place votes with Union second, followed by Montevallo third.  Benedict from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is fourth, followed by Alabama-Huntsville and Lee is sixth.
 
AUM fell to 0-7 on the year with a 70-46 loss at home to West Florida on Tuesday.  Alexia Wallace had 14 points off the bench to lead the Warhawks, while Catlin Carter added ten points.  AUM shot just 29.8 percent from the field on 17 of 57, while going 7 of 24 from range and 5 of 6 from the line. 
 
The Warhawks are shooting at a 33.8 clip for the season on 134 of 396, while they are 43 of 147 from beyond the arc (29.3), while going 54 of 88 from the line for a 61.4 clip.  AUM is averaging 33.0 rebounds per game and scoring 52.1 points per game.  The Warhawks are holding teams to a 37.7 clip from the field on 153 of 408, while the opposition is 39 of 141 from beyond the arc (27.7) and 108 of 138 from the line (78.3).  The opponents are averaging 44.4 rebounds per game and 65.0 points per contest. 
 
Jordan Brewster leads the team averaging 11.8 points per game in five starts.  Carter is second in scoring at 10.7 points per game on 24 of 76 from the field.  Jamya Tyus also has 24 made field goals to lead the team as she is third in scoring at 9.0 points per game.  Brewster leads the team with 19 made triples, while Carter is 21 of 36 from the line to lead the squad in free throws made.  Derienne Black leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 per contest. 
 
VSU downed AUM in two games in Valdosta to begin the 2021 portion of the schedule, winning 72-55 and 66-47.  Bonilla averaged 19.0 points in the series, going a blistering 15 of 18 from the field and 5 of 6 from range.  Smith was second in scoring at 11.0 points per game, while she was second in rebounding at 9.5 per game.  Farrar averaged 10.0 rebounds in the two games and 8.0 points.  Farrar had 11 offensive rebounds in the two games and 20 total rebounds.  VSU went to the line 42 times, making 32, while AUM was just 13 of 21 from the line in the two games.  VSU held AUM to a 32.7 clip shooting and outrebounded the Warhawks 46.0-23.5 for a margin of 22.5 rebounds per game.
 
VSU has won the past eight meetings in the series and is 3-0 in Montgomery, Ala.  VSU won there 68-53 on Feb. 29, 2020.  Only one meeting in the past eight have had a margin under ten points as VSU won 55-49 on Jan. 26, 2019, in Montgomery. 
 
Lady Blazer head coach Deandra Schirmer is in her second season at the helm of the program.  She is 32-13 overall and 24-12 in the GSC.  AUM head coach Sean Page is in his third year as the head coach of the Warhawks and is 17-46 there.  He is in his 15^th season of coaching and is 234-183 overall.
 
Nationally speaking, VSU is tops in the GSC in assists with 219 for 23^rd nationally, while the team is first in the league in defensive rebounds at 30.1 for 22^nd nationally.  VSU is 25^th nationally in blocked shots (52) for second in the league.  The Lady Blazers are 24^th nationally and lead the GSC in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a 35.3 clip per game, while they are 16^th nationally in free throws attempted (301) and 19^th in free throws made (213) to lead the GSC. 
 
The Lady Blazers are third nationally in rebounding with 683 for tops in the league and seventh nationally in rebounding margin at 9.8 for second in the league, while the team is 31^st nationally and second in the league in rebounds per game at 42.7.  VSU is 28^th nationally in scoring defense, holding teams to a 59.1 clip for second in the league and is tops in the conference in scoring margin at 13.2 for 26^th nationally.  The Lady Blazers are 45^th nationally and third in the GSC in scoring offense at 72.3 points per game, while they are 15^th nationally in steals (148) to lead the league.  VSU is 16^th nationally and second in the league in 3-pointers attempted (349), while it is 20^th nationally in 3-pointers made (114) and second in the GSC in 3-point field goal percentage at a 32.7 clip. 
 
Individually, Farrar is fourth nationally and second in the GSC in double-doubles with nine, while she is 29^th nationally in blocked shots (21) for second in the league.  She is 13^th nationally and first in the league in field goals made (98), while she is ninth nationally and second in the league in field goal percentage (61.2).  Farrar is 12^th nationally and second in the league in offensive rebounds per game (4.4), while she is eighth nationally in rebounds (158) for second in the league. 
 
Bonilla is fifth in the GSC in field goals made with 76, while she leads the team with 53 assists for fifth in the league.  She is 15^th nationally and first in the GSC in free throws attempted while she is 17^th nationally and first in the GSC in free throws made (65).  Her 81.2 average from the line is good for fourth in the league.  Bonilla is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game for ninth in the league, while she is fifth nationally in teals with 44 to lead the conference.