VALDOSTA, Ga. – Following two heartbreaking losses on the road by a combined four points, the No. 18 Valdosta State women's basketball team returns home to host rival West Florida Saturday at 2 p.m. in key Gulf South Conference matchup at The Complex.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page for Saturday's contest.  The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call and at talk921.com online.  
 
Saturday's game also is the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week.  While this is a men's basketball initiative, both UWF and VSU women's basketball coaching staffs are anticipated to wear sneakers on the sidelines.   
 
The Lady Blazers stand at 14-4 overall and 9-2 in GSC play and sit second in the league standings behind No. 13 Union who is 10-0 in league play.  Lee is third in the standings at 7-2, while West Florida is fourth at 8-3.  West Alabama is 6-3 and rounds out the top five.  
 
In each of the last two games, following a 101-62 victory at Christian Brothers for third-year head coach Deandra Schirmer's 50^th victory of her career at VSU, the Lady Blazers led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter last Saturday at Union and a 35-22 lead at intermission.  From there against the Lady Bulldogs, things went south as Union outscored VSU 37-21 in the second half as Union scored with 24 seconds left for a 59-56 victory.  The Lady Blazers missed two free throws with ten seconds remaining, trailing by one as Union scored two free throws for the three-point victory. 
 
Wednesday evening, VSU dipped out of conference play at Benedict, where the Lady Blazers built a 30-15 lead at halftime and led by as many as 23 with 4:06 left in the third quarter at 38-15, before BC outscored the Lady Blazers 34-10 the rest of the way and 17-0 over the final 7:16 of the fourth quarter for a 49-48 victory.  VSU graduate student Kwajelin Farrar had 17 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, while graduate student Nicole Heyn finished with nine points and a season-high 15 rebounds.  Turnovers proved costly, especially down the stretch, as VSU committed 25 turnovers for the game, 11 in the fourth quarter alone and nine over the final 7:16 scoreless spurt of the game.
 
West Florida enters after a 90-43 victory at Spring Hill College on Tuesday evening.  The Argos made a school-record 16 3-pointers in the game and had four players in double figures.  UWF shot a season-high 52 percent for the contest and went 16 of 33 from deep for 49 percent.  Gabby Brown had a game-high 18 points and Peyton Lewis chipped in four triples for 16 points.  Jaclyn Jarnot added 15 points and nine rebounds.  The Argos had lost their last two games in a 73-38 loss at then-No. 15 Union and a 74-70 setback at Christian Brothers last week.
 
The Argos are under the direction of tenth year head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton who is 163-110 at UWF and 219-194 in her 15^th year overall of coaching.  This marks the first meeting of the season between the two teams as the Jan. 8 game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols and a makeup date has not been announced at this time.  
 
This season, the Argos lead the GSC in rebounds per game at a 41.9 clip and are first in the league in defensive rebounds per game at 28.6.  The Argos are second in the league and 28^th nationally in assists (277), while they are 25^thnationally and second in the conference in free throw attempts (366) and third in the league in free throws made (254) for 31^st nationally.  The Argos are second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at a 13.3 clip, they are 20^th nationally in rebounding margin (8.8) for second in the GSC.  
 
Individually, Jarnot is second nationally in defensive rebounds per game at 10.2 per contest, while she is third nationally in double-doubles (12) and third nationally in rebounds per game at a 13.4 clip.  Zoe Piller is third in the GSC in field goals made (111) and 18^th nationally in field goal percentage at a 58.7 clip for second in the league.  Piller is 18^th nationally in free throws attempted (109) for third in the league and she is fourth in free throws made (67).  Piller also leads the team in offensive rebounds per game at a 4.1 clip for 17^th nationally and tops in the league.  She is third in the GSC in rebounding at 9.6 per game.   
 
This week, the Lady Blazers dropped two spots in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 to 18^th.  Union sits at 13^th as the highest ranked team in both the conference and region.  Eckerd of the Sunshine State Conference is 16^th this week, followed by the Lady Blazers, Tampa is 22^nd and Savannah State is 24^th.  Lee is among others receiving votes this week at 26^th nationally.  In the D2SIDA Top 25, Union is eighth and tops in the region, while VSU is 17^th, followed by Tampa at 19^th and Eckerd is 24^th.  Lee is among receiving votes in that poll, too.  
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are 24^th nationally in assists with 282 tops in the GSC and third in assists per game at 15.7 for 35^th nationally.  VSU is third in the GSC in field goal percentage at 44.8 for 44^th nationally, while it is 21^stnationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a 34.7 clip for best in the league.  VSU is 37^th nationally in free throw attempts (355) for fourth in the conference and fifth in the GSC in free throws made (233).  The Lady Blazers are 13^th nationally in scoring defense allowing 53.8 points per game for tops in the conference, while they are 23^rd nationally in scoring margin at 14.2 for second in the league.  VSU is tops in the conference in 3-point field goal defense, holding teams to a 25.0 clip for 21^st nationally, while the team is 32^nd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a 34.9 clip for third in the league. 
 
Individually, Farrar leads the team averaging 14.3 points per game.  She is third in the GSC and 21^st nationally in field goal percentage at a 57.9 clip on 113 of 195 from the field.  Farrar is second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.7 for 34^th nationally, while Heyn is third in the GSC in defensive rebounds per game at 6.7 per contest for 41^st nationally.  Farrar is fourth in the GSC in total rebounds with 152, while Francis is fourth in the league in assists with 69.  
 
Following the game Saturday, VSU continues at home next Thursday (Feb. 3) against Alabama Huntsville at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup with West Alabama on Feb. 5.  The Lady Blazers won at both UAH and UWA earlier this season.