VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a thrilling 66-52 victory over No. 8 Georgia Southwestern, the Valdosta State women's basketball team returns to Gulf South Conference play Saturday at Delta State and Monday at Mississippi College.  The Lady Blazers and Lady Statesmen are scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday evening, while VSU and MC also are set for a 6:30 p.m. ET tip on Monday. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com.  The games also will be broadcast on 94.3 WJEM FM and online at foxsportsvaldosta.com with Spencer Van Horn having the call.
 
VSU improved to 2-2 on the year and 1-1 against ranked teams following the win on Tuesday versus Georgia Southwestern behind 43 points combined from sophomore Kate Tanner and junior Lili Long.  Tanner finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Lone had 21 points and five rebounds in the victory.  The Lady Blazers shot 40.9 percent from the field on 18 of 44, while it was 6 of 19 from deep and a season-high 24 of 36 from the line, including 14 of 17 from the line in the second half, after opening the game 10 of 19 from the stripe for the first half.  VSU never trailed in the contest and sophomore Taylor Searcey continued her strong play on the glass with a team-high ten rebounds. 
 
For the season, the Lady Blazers are averaging 65.0 points per game and allowing 60.0 per contest, while the team is shooting .385 from the field on 84 of 218, while the Blazers are 32 of 84 from deep (.381) and 60 of 86 from the line (.698).  The Lady Blazers are four made free throws shy of making more free throws than the opposition has attempted (64). VSU is averaging 36.8 rebounds per game and allowing 30.3 per contest. 

Individually, Searcey leads the team averaging 11.8 points per game on 16 of 37 from the field (.432), while she is 13 of 17 from the line.  Searcey is averaging a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game, while Tanner is second in scoring at 11.0 points per game on 14 of 29 from the field (.483).  Long is third on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game and second in rebounding at 6.0 per contest. 
 
Delta State enters with a 2-4 overall and a 1-1 record in league play.  The Lady Statesmen are coming off a 58-51 loss to Harding on Monday as Alanna Smith scored a team-high 14 points off the bench, while Camryn Davis added 11 points for DSU in the contest.  Harding went 18 of 26 from the line, while DSU was just 9 of 13 from the stripe.
 
For the season, the Lady Statesmen are led by Davis at 12.8 points per game as she is 28 of 67 from the field (.418) and 21 of 27 from the line (.778) to lead the team.  She also leads the team averaging 5.2 rebounds per game.  Head coach Tracy Stewart-Lange is in her first season at the helm of the Lady Statesmen.  She came to Delta State from Lyon College in Batesville, Ark., where he was the head coach for 17 seasons with a 366-167 record.
 
DSU leads the all-time series 41-13, but the Lady Blazers have won the last two meetings and eight of 11 dating back to 2017.  VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer is 64-23 at the helm of the Lady Blazers and is 2-2 against Delta State.  DSU leads the series 20-4 in Cleveland, Miss., but VSU last won 54-46 in Cleveland on Mar. 5, 2019, and have won three of the last four there. 
 
Mississippi College enters the weekend with a 1-4 record overall and 0-2 in league play.  MC dropped a 73-62 decision to Ouachita Baptist on Tuesday and will host West Florida before welcoming the Lady Blazers.
 
The Choctaws are led by Kyiah Julian at 12.4 points per game as she is 13 of 55 from the field, 5 of 24 from deep and a team-best 31 of 34 (.912) from the line. Keller Bigham is second in scoring at 7.2 points per game and leads the team averaging 5.8 rebounds per contest.  Head coach Greg Long is in his third season at the helm of the Choctaw program as he is 19-26 in Clinton, Miss., and 39-37 in four seasons of coaching.  He was 20-11 in 2019-20 at Arkansas-Monticello, before taking the MC job.
 
VSU leads the all-time series with Mississippi College 21-12 and won 76-58 in Valdosta last season in the lone meeting between the two teams.  Schirmer is 1-2 against Mississippi College.  VSU is 7-5 in Clinton, Miss., and has won four of the last five there.
 
Following the games, VSU returns home to host rival West Georgia on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m., at The Complex in the Red Clay Rivalry Series.