VALDOSTA, Ga. – Riding a four-game winning streak, the No. 19 Valdosta State women's basketball returns home to host Delta State and Mississippi College this week for Hall of Fame Weekend.  The game against Delta State is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m., while the Mississippi College game is set for Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Blazers enter the week at 11-2 overall and 6-1 in Gulf South Conference play and had its last game at West Florida scheduled for Jan. 8 postponed due to health concerns for COVID-19.  The game against UWF has not been rescheduled as of this point.
 
The games this week will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM in Valdosta with Mike Chason having the call. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  
 
VSU will honor its 25^th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 15 with a 10 a.m. brunch at the Student Union Ballroom located at 1500 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA, 31698.  Fans can purchase tickets for the brunch at the link to the right of this article ($25 per person). The brunch ticket will also allow access to the VSU basketball doubleheader at The Complex that same afternoon vs. Mississippi College at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
 
The 2022 Class features four outstanding former student-athletes, one long time contributor and a veteran coach.  

 
Heading into the week, Union leads the league standings with a 6-0 record, while VSU and UWF each are 6-1.  All three teams are 11-2 overall.  Delta State sits one game back of VSU/UWF at 5-2 in league play and 7-5 overall, while Lee and West Alabama each are 4-2 in league play.  
 
The Lady Blazers ended 2021 and began 2022 on the right foot with a pair of key road wins at Alabama Huntsville on Dec. 31 and at West Alabama on Jan. 2.  The third quarter and second halves proved to be the difference in the two games as VSU held a two-point advantage at halftime of each game and then exploded in the third quarter for a 50-23 margin and also outscored the opponents 84-51 in the second half combined.  For the season, VSU has outscored the opposition 252-176 in the third quarter alone for the largest margin of any quarter.
 
For the final game before the Christmas Break in a 72-64 victory over Auburn Montgomery and the two victories at UAH and UWA, VSU shot .488 from the field on 82 of 168 from the floor.  The Lady Blazers were 27 of 65 from deep (.415) and 27 of 46 from the line.  VSU averaged 32.7 rebounds per game and scored 72.7 points per contest, while holding the opposition to just a 58.7 average.  The opponents were 61 of 142 from the field (.430) and were just 14 of 48 from deep (.292), while going 40 of 52 from the stripe (.769).  
 
Individually, graduate students Nicole Heyn and Kwajelin Farrar each averaged 14.0 points per game as Heyn was 12 of 27 from the field (.444) with eight triples and 10 of 15 from the line in three starts, while Farrar was 19 of 30 from the field (.633) with four free throws and averaged a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.  Fellow graduate student Delaney Bernard averaged 10.7 points per game also on 12 of 27 from the field and made eight treys.  
 
VSU is under the direction of third-year head coach Deandra Schirmer who is 47-17 overall and 32-13 in GSC play.  Schirmer is 2-1 against the Argos during her time at VSU, going 1-1 in 2019-20 and winning the one game played last season in Pensacola.  The final two games of the series in 2020-21 were cancelled due to illness with UWF for the regular season finale.    
 
Nationally speaking, VSU leads the GSC in 3-point field goal defense, holding teams to a .245 clip for the season for 24^thnationally.  VSU is holding teams to 54.3 points per game for 19^th nationally and second in the league.  VSU's 14.7 scoring margin is second in the conference and 25^th nationally.  The Lady Blazers are third in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .440 clip (43^rd nationally), while holding teams to a .358 average for fourth in the GSC for 44^th nationally.  
 
Individually, Farrar is second in the GSC in field goals made (84) for 50^th nationally, while she is fourth in the league in blocked shots (13), fifth in double-doubles (5) for 36^th nationally and second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 4.2 for 19^th nationally.  Her 8.7 rebounds per game puts her fifth in the conference, while her 113 total rebounds places her fourth in the league.  Farrar is third in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .564 clip for 32^nd nationally (84 of 149).  Heyn is second in the league and 40^th nationally in steals per game at a 2.6 clip, while sophomore Tamiya Francis is fifth in the GSC in assists with 45.  Heyn sits ninth in the league in defensive rebounds per game at a 5.1 clip.  
 
The Lady Blazers improved to 19^th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 this week.  Union is the highest ranked team in the GSC and South Region at 18th, while Tampa is 20^th and Eckerd is 24^th.  Savannah State, and West Florida are among others receiving votes. 
 
In the D2SIDA Top 25, VSU is 23^rd this week and third in the D2SIDA South Region ranking, moving up from fourth last week.  Union leads the week's region ranking, followed by Tampa, VSU and Eckerd is fourth.  West Florida sits fifth, followed by Lee, Barry, Savannah State, West Alabama and a tie for tenth between Benedict and Tuskegee.  Saint Leo and Florida Southern are among others receiving votes.  Nationally speaking, Union is 11^th this week, followed by Tampa at 18^th and VSU at 23^rd.  Eckerd is receiving votes as is Bentley who VSU defeated earlier this season.
 
Delta State has dropped its past two games, including a 74-60 loss at West Georgia on Jan. 5, its last time out.  The Lady Statesmen had its game against Mississippi College postponed on Jan. 2 and lost to Union 77-63 on Dec. 20.  Prior to that, DSU had won six-straight. 
 
The Lady Statesmen are under the direction of head coach Craig Roden who is 458-405 all-time in 32 years of coaching and 122-79 at Delta State in his eighth year. Roden has coached at DSU, West Georgia and West Alabama and had a stop at UTEP.
 
This season, DSU is shooting .415 from the field on 288 of 694 from the floor, while it is 145 of 157 from beyond the arc (.287) and 156 of 205 from the line for a .761 clip.  DSU is averaging 39.8 rebounds per game and scoring 64.8 points per contest.  Conversely, teams are shooting .415 from the field against the Lady Statesmen (272-656), .307 from beyond the arc (70-228) and .751 at the line on 166 of 221.  DSU is allowing 30.2 rebounds per game and 65.0 points per game.  The Lady Statesmen are 3-3 on the year on the road. 
 
Individually, Ke'Vonsh Stackhouse leads three players averaging double figures at 14.5 points per game.  She is 61 of 152 (.401) from the field, while going 10 of 43 from deep and a team-best 42 of 50 from the line (.840).  Stackhouse is third on the team in rebounding at 5.3 per game and is tied for the team-high with 43 assists and second in steals with 17. Zyaire Ewing is second in scoring at 13.7 points per game.  She is 56 of 126 from the field (.444) and leads the team averaging 9.6 rebounds per game.  T'Kyra Hicks is third in scoring at 11.8 points per game.  She is 49 of 150 from the field (.350) and 24 of 83 (.289) from beyond the arc to lead the team.  Hicks has a team-high 20 steals on the year, while Mckenzie Hill also is tops on the team in assists with 43.
 
VSU won the last meeting between the two teams in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament last season with a 55-51 victory in Valdosta on Mar. 2, 2021.  Farrar had 14 points to lead the Lady Blazers as VSU battled back from a 13-4 hole following the first quarter for the victory.  VSU used a 14-7 fourth quarter as the Lady Blazers trailed 44-41 heading to the final frame.  Ewing had 14 points in the game for DSU.  VSU finished 15 of 20 at the line in the game, while DSU was just 7 of 11.  The Lady Statemen lead the all-time series 41-12, but VSU has won 7 of 10, including 3 of 5 in Valdosta.
 
Mississippi College is 3-3 in league play and 8-5 overall and is coming off a 73-51 victory over West Georgia on Jan. 8.  MC will travel to West Florida, before heading to Titletown for Saturday's game.  The Choctaws lost their final two games of 2021 to Union and Christian Brothers, before having the DSU game postponed on Jan. 2 and the victory against UWG on Jan. 8. 
 
MC head coach Greg Long is in his third season at the helm of the program.  He is 11-14 at MC and 31-25 overall with one season as head coach at Arkansas-Monticello in 2019-20.  This season, the Choctaws are averaging 67.6 points per game and allowing 53.6 per contest for a +14.0 margin. MC is shooting at a .395 clip on 316 of 799, while it is 72 of 219 from range (.329) and 175 of 264 (.663) from the line.  The Choctaws are averaging 41.0 rebounds per game and allowing 34.8 per contest.  Teams are shooting .346 against MC on 243 of 703, while the opposition is 42 of 171 from beyond the arc (.246) and 169 of 266 from the line for a .635 clip. 
 
Individually, Ally Alford leads the team averaging 13.9 points per game.  She is 53 of 130 from the field (.408) and 28 of 69 from range (.406), while going 19 of 24 from the line for a .792 clip.  Alford has 14 assists and 22 steals for the season.  Kyiah Julian is second in scoring at 10.6 points per game.  She is 42 of 125 from the field (.336) and 22 of 68 from range (.324).  Julian is 21 of 25 from the line (.840).  Amelia Bell is third in scoring at 8.7 points per game and leads the team averaging 6.8 rebounds per game.  Bell is a team-best 44 of 82 from the field (.537) and has 12 a team-high 12 blocks on the year.
 
VSU leads the all-time series with MC 20-12, but MC has won the past two meetings, including a 76-55 victory in Clinton, Miss., on Feb. 13, 2020.  MC also won its last time in Valdosta with a 77-64 victory on Jan. 9, 2020.   VSU has won 7 of 12 meetings in Valdosta for the series.