VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 16 Valdosta State women's basketball team dips out of Gulf South Conference play on Wednesday to Columbia, S.C., to battle Benedict College on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m.  The Lady Blazers and Lady Tigers played in Valdosta the first weekend of the season in November.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  Spencer Van Horn will the call of the game on WDDQ 92.1 TALK FM in Valdosta and online at talk921.com.  Check back following the game for a complete recap and stats.
 
The Lady Blazers are coming off a heartbreaking 59-56 loss at No. 15 Union on Saturday, snapping a seven-game winning streak.  VSU led by as many 16 points in the second quarter, only to see Union outscore the Lady Blazers 37-21 in the second half.  The game saw three ties and 11 lead changes.  Trailing by one with 24 seconds left, VSU missed two free throws and Union converted twice in the final six seconds and a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the Lady Blazers missed at the buzzer.  Graduate student Kwajelin Farrar had a game-high 19 points on 9 of 17 from the field and one free throw leading three Lady Blazers in double figures. Union's Jaelencia Williams had a team-high 18 points, including ten points in the second half during the Lady Bulldogs' rally.
 
For the season, VSU stands at 14-3 overall and 9-2 in Gulf South Conference play.  The Lady Blazers second in the league standings, while Lee is 7-2 in conference play and West Florida is fourth at 8-3.  Union is a perfect 10-0 in conference play this season and 15-2 overall to lead the league.  West Florida visits VSU on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. at The Complex following the game at Benedict Wednesday evening.
 
The Lady Tigers are 12-6 overall and 7-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and are coming off a thrilling 74-65 home previously unbeaten and No. 22 Savannah State.  BC's Keondra Archie had a game-high 26 points off the bench in the victory as the Lady Tigers outscored SSU 55-40 in the second half after trailing 25-19 at halftime.  Archie had ten rebounds in the game as did Ay'Anna Bey, while Camryn Bostick had eight rebounds as BC outrebounded SSU 51-40 and 19-15 on the offensive end.  BC shot 19 of 35 from the field in the second half, after opening 6 of 30 from the field in the first half.  BC was 11 of 12 from the line in the fourth quarter alone and went 17 of 21 from the stripe for the game.  
 
Benedict College is 2-2 in its last four games with a 73-65 victory over Edward Waters (Jan. 8) and a 69-63 overtime loss at Albany State (Jan. 17), coupled with a 57-50 loss at Lane College (Jan. 5).  
 
In the previous meeting this season with Benedict, VSU pulled away in the second half with a 15-7 third quarter and a 24-20 margin in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Tigers 39-27 in the second half after Benedict held a 31-26 lead at intermission.  Graduate Student Delaney Bernard had a team-high 17 points on 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, while going 3 of 4 from the line leading four Lady Blazers in double figures.  Sophomore Tamiya Francis just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, while she had seven assists and three steals.  Farrar had ten points and five rebounds in the game.  Despite being outshot in the game, VSU nailed ten triples and went 13 of 19 from the line, while BC was 3 of 24 from deep and 7 of 9 from the line.  Archie had a game-high 21 points as she was a perfect 10 of 10 from the field with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Bey had 12 points and ten rebounds for the game.
 
For Benedict this season, Bey leads the team averaging 15.4 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game.  She is 82 of 167 from the field for a 49.1 clip.  She also leads the team from the charity stripe at 87 of 109 for a 79.8 average.  Bey has 34 assists and is tied for the team-lead in steals with 27, while leading the team with 13 blocks.  Archie is second in scoring at 12.9 points per game and is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.  She is 68 of 146 from the field (.466), while recording 27 assists and 21 steals.  Ayanna Armstead lead the team with 28 triples and is fourth in scoring at 9.2 points per game.  
 
As a team, the Lady Tigers are shooting at a .394 clip on 395 of 1002 from the field, while they are 88 of 378 from beyond the arc (.233) and 276 of 372 from the line (.742).  Benedict is averaging 42.8 rebounds and 67.9 points per game.  The opposition is shooting at .367 clip for the season on 387 of 1055, while it is 97 of 296 from deep (.328) and 238 of 353 from the line (.674).  BC is outrebounding its opposition by a 5.9 margin and is holding teams to 65.2 points per game.
 
BC head coach James Rice is in his tenth season at the helm of the Lady Tigers.  He is 192-77 (.714).  The Lady Tigers are eighth nationally in free throws made (276) and 13^th in free throws attempted (372).  BC is 24^th nationally in rebounds (728) and 26^th nationally in rebounds per game at 42.8.  Bey is 11^th nationally in free throw attempts (109) and tenth in free throws made (87).  Teammate Wykira Johnson-Kelly is 18^th nationally in free throws made (78) and 33^rd in in free throws attempted (93) for Nos. 1 and 2 in the SIAC, respectively.  Bey is second in the league in rebounds with 151 for 39^th nationally, while her 6.3 defensive rebounds are good for 48^th nationally and second in the league.  
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are 29^th nationally in assists with 267 for second in the GSC and third in assists per game at 15.7 for 36^th nationally.  VSU is third in the GSC in field goal percentage at 44.3 for 32^nd nationally, while it is 34^thnationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a 35.5 clip for second in the conference.  VSU is 35^thnationally in free throw attempts (346) for third in the conference and fifth in the GSC in free throws made (229).  The Lady Blazers are 14^th nationally in scoring defense allowing 54.1 points per game for tops in the conference, while they are 19^th nationally in scoring margin at 15.1 for second in the league.  VSU is tops in the conference in 3-point field goal defense, holding teams to a 26.3 clip for 41^st nationally, while the team is 30^th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a 35.0 clip.  
 
Individually, Farrar leads the team averaging 14.1 points per game.  She is third in the GSC and 23^rd nationally in field goal percentage at a 57.4 clip on 105 of 183 from the field.  Farrar is second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.6 for 42^nd nationally, while Heyn is fourth in the GSC in defensive rebounds per game at 6.2 per contest.  Farrar is fifth in the GSC in total rebounds with 136, while Francis is fourth in the league in assists with 62.  
 
Lady Blazer head coach Deandra Schirmer won her 50^th game of her VSU career last Thursday in a thrilling 101-62 victory at Christian Brothers.  Schirmer now stands at 50-18 in her third season at VSU as she became the fourth-fastest Lady Blazer head coach to reach 50 victories in just 67 games through Thursday's contest.  The 101 points scored were the most by VSU since also scoring 101 points on Dec. 1, 2016, against Trinity (Fla.).