VALDOSTA, Ga. – With the turn of the calendar to March, the No. 24 Valdosta State women's basketball team opens Gulf South Conference Championship play Tuesday at 7 p.m. versus West Alabama at The Complex in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
 
The Lady Blazers enter with a 22-4 record overall and a 17-2 mark in the GSC, while riding a season-best eight-game winning streak.  VSU is the No. 2-seed in the conference tournament, while West Alabama enters as the No. 7-seed.  The Tigers are 15-12 overall and went 9-10 in league play.  
 
FloHoops will stream all GSC postseason games as a part of its contract with the GSC.  A subscription is required.  Per game or monthly rates are available and can be canceled at any time.  Audio for the Lady Blazer game can be found on 92.1 WDDQ FM and at talk921.com or foxsportsvaldosta.com with Mike Chason having the call.  Fans can find links to FloHoops live streaming, live audio, or live stats by going to vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  For more information on FloHoops and on how to sign up for it, please click on the links to the right of this story and for the GSC Women's Basketball Championship page.
 
FloSports is the exclusive home for all GSC Championships. With a monthly or annual subscription to FloSports, Gulf South fans will have the ability to access live and on-demand coverage of exclusive content and games.
 
VSU is coming off a 79-57 victory at West Georgia on Saturday as six Lady Blazers were in double figures in the game. Freshman India Jordan and graduate student Mallory Odell finished with 13 points each off the bench.  Jordan went 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from deep, while going 1 of 1 from the line and Odell was 6 of 13 from the field with one free throw.  Freshman Taylor Searcey added 12 points of the bench, while graduate students Kwajelin Farrar and Nicole Heyn each had ten points and sophomore Lili Long added 11 points.  VSU outscored UWG 61-38 through the first three quarters.  
 
VSU is making its 31^st appearance in the GSC Championship and is 23-27 all-time with 17 semifinal appearances and eight appearances in the finals.  The Lady Blazers have won three titles in 1983, 1984 and 2017.  Last season, VSU dropped a 74-71 decision at home to Lee last season on "Super Tuesday", but finished as runner-up in 2019 with an 81-73 loss in the championship game to Lee.  
 
This season's semifinal and championship rounds return to the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University, scheduled for Mar. 5-6.  The winner of the championship will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA South Regional, scheduled for Mar. 11-14.  The winner of the regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala., Mar. 21-25. 
 
Last week in the latest NCAA South Region Poll, VSU moved to No. 3, after being in the fourth position in the first poll the first week.  Union again leads the poll, followed by Tampa, Eckerd, the Lady Blazers and Lee rounds out the top five.  Savannah State moved from eighth to sixth this week, followed by Florida Southern, Benedict, Tuskegee and West Florida remained tenth. There will be one more public ranking Wednesday, followed by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show, scheduled for Sunday, Mar. 6 in the evening.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on the Selection Show.
 
VSU is looking for its 14^th appearance in the NCAA postseason as the team went 1-1 last year, defeating Lee and falling in heartbreaking fashion to eventual NCAA South Region champion Lander.  VSU is 14-13 all-time in the NCAA postseason with a third-place finish in 1984.
 
West Alabama enters the week on a four-game skid and has lost six of eight dating back to a 92-61 loss at VSU on Feb. 5.  The Tigers lost two home games last week with a 71-68 setback to Delta State and a 61-51 loss to Mississippi College to end the regular season.
 
VSU won both meetings with UWA this season, including the 92-61 victory earlier in February.  In that game, Heyn had a team-high 22 points on 7 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from deep, while going 2 of 2 from the line leading five players in double figures.  VSU used a 24-12 fourth quarter spurt for the victory after leading 68-49 through three frames.  The Lady Blazers shot a blistering 55.9 percent for the game (33 of 59) and drained 14 of 26 from deep, marking the most made 3-pointers in a game this season.  In the first meeting, VSU led 30-28 at halftime in Livingston, Ala., on Jan. 2, 2022, before using a 23-14 third quarter to take command of the game for the 64-51 victory.  Farrar led VSU with 16 points as the Lady Blazers shot 50 percent for the game (25-50) and 8 of 18 from deep.
 
For the series, VSU has won seven of ten and is 14-7 over the last 21 meetings.  VSU snapped a two-game skid in Valdosta with the win on Feb. 5, 2022, as VSU has won seven of the last 11 meetings at The Complex. 
 
In the other quarterfinal games, top-seeded Union hosts No. 8-seed Montevallo, while No. 4 West Florida entertains No. 5 Delta State and No. 6-seed Mississippi College travels to No. 3-seed Lee.  VSU is 2-0 all-time against UWA in the conference tournament, but the teams haven't played since 1986 when VSU won 82-66 in the semifinal round.  VSU also won 95-61 in 1983 in the first round.  UWA is making its 25^th appearance in the GSC Championship and is 11-23 all-time with one title in 2012.  The Tigers have reached the semifinals eight times, championship twice and the one victory.  
 
The Tigers are led this season by Tazsa Garrett-Hammett, who leads the team averaging 17.9 points per game.  She is 159 of 312 from the field, made 14 triples and is 140 of 176 from the line.  She is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game with 59 assists and 33 steals.  Bria Dent is second in scoring at 14.3 points per game and leads the team averaging 9.6 rebounds per contest.  As a team, the Tigers are shooting at a .448 clip on 640 of 1427 from the field, while they have knocked down 104 treys and are 375 of 523 from the line for a .717 clip.  UWA is averaging 36.2 rebounds per game and averaging 65.2 points per game.  Conversely, the opposition is averaging 61.5 points per game and averaging 32.3 rebounds per game.  
 
Nationally speaking, UWA is 25^th in the country in field goal percentage at a .448 clip for second in the league, while it is third in the league in free throws made (375) for 47^th nationally.  UWA is fourth in the conference in assists (398) and fourth in assists per game at a 14.7 clip.  Individually, Dent is 18^th nationally and second in the league in defensive rebounds per game at a 7.7 average.  Dent is sixth in the league in field goal percentage at a .515 clip, while she is third in the league in rebounds per game at a 9.6 clip for 43^rd nationally.  Garrett-Hammett is sixth nationally in free throws attempted to lead the league (176) and ninth nationally in free throws made with 140.  Her .795 clip from the line is second-best in the league.  She is second in the GSC and 43^rd nationally in points per game at a 17.9 clip.
 
Head coach Rusty Cram is in his eighth season at UWA and 24^th overall.  Cram is 88-122 at UWA and 327-352 overall as a coach.  Cram is 4-9 against VSU during his time in Livingston, Ala.   
 
VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer is in her third year at VSU and is 58-19, while going 43-14 in GSC play.  She is 3-1 against UWA.  The Lady Blazers are fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 52.8 points per game, while they are 14^th nationally in scoring margin at 16.4 ppg as both lead the GSC.  The Lady Blazers are holding teams to a .257 clip from beyond the arc for 17^th nationally, while they are 18^th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a 34.9 clip for tops in the league.  VSU is 20^th nationally in rebounding margin at an 8.2 clip for second in the conference, while they are 31^st in assists per game at 15.8 per contest to lead the league.  
 
Individually, Farrar is 28^th nationally and second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at a 3.8 clip.  Heyn is 13^th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a .436 clip, while Farrar is 13^th nationally in field goal percentage at a .586 average.  
 
The GSC All-Conference Teams are expected to be announced on Tuesday, while the third public ranking for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship is scheduled to be unveiled Wednesday afternoon.
 
If the Lady Blazers were to defeat West Alabama, they would advance to the GSC semifinals in Birmingham, Ala., to face the winner of the Lee vs. Mississippi College game at time to be announced on Mar. 5.