VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh off a thrilling NCAA South Region Championship, the Valdosta State women's basketball team heads to its first NCAA Quarterfinal since the 1984 season.  The Lady Blazers, the No. 4-seed in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight are scheduled to battle No. 5-seed Western Washington Monday, Mar. 21 at 9:30 p.m. ET at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call and streamed online at talk921.com.  
 
VSU improved to 26-5 after the thrilling 66-58 victory at top-ranked and No. 1-seed Union last Monday in the South Region Championship.  The 26 victories for VSU matched the most since the 2007-08 season when VSU went 26-6.  Against Union, Lady Blazer graduate student Kwajelin Farrar earned South Region Most Valuable Player honors, while graduate student teammate Nicole Heyn was named to the All-Region Tournament Team.  
 
The Lady Blazers, who were the No. 7-seed in the South Regional, defeated No. 2-seed Tampa (59-50), No. 3-seed Lee (70-44) and No. 1-seed Union (66-58).  For the regional, VSU shot 65 of 149 from the field (.436), while it was 18 of 51 from deep (.353) and 47 of 65 (.723) from the line.  VSU averaged 38.3 rebounds and allowed just 19.3 rebounds per game for a plus-19 rebound margin.  The Lady Blazers held the opposition to a .356 average from the field on 57 of 160, while the opponents were 15 of 56 from deep (.268) and 23 of 29 from the line (.793).  VSU allowed just 50.7 points per game for the regional, while scoring 65.0 points per contest.
 
Individually, Farrar averaged 18.0 points per game on 22 of 39 from the field (.564), while she was 10 of 17 from the line and averaged 7.3 rebounds per game.  Heyn was 9 of 28 from the field, 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and 14 of 16 from the line (.875).  She averaged 11.7 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game for the regional.  Freshman Taylor Searcey was third in scoring at 10.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.  Searcey was all over the place in the regional and was 10 of 18 from the field (.556) and 10 of 13 from the line. Searcey led the team with 11 assists. 
 
In the championship game, Farrar went up against Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and D2CCA Region Player of the Year Jaelencia Williams.  Farrar finished with 19 points on 7 of 18 form the field and 5 of 9 from the line, while she added eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.  Heyn recorded a double-double with ten points and 16 rebounds as Farrar and company held Williams to 12 points and nine rebounds.  VSU used a 16-7 spurt in the second quarter for a 33-19 lead at the break.  The Lady Bulldogs cut the deficit to three in late in the third quarter, but never got closer the rest of the way. 
 
This will be the second meeting all-time between VSU and Western Washington as the teams met in Bellingham, Wash., on Nov. 24, 2017, with a 59-56 VSU victory.  VSU has no players currently on the team who also played in 2017, while WWU has three players in Dani Iwami, Emma Duff and Gracie Castaneda.  
 
On the Lady Blazers' side of the bracket, top-seed North Georgia battles No. 8-seed Pace (N.Y.), while No. 2-seed Grand Valley State (Mich.) faces Missouri Western and No. 3-seed Glenville State (W.Va.) battles No. 6-seed West Texas A&M on the other side of the bracket.  This year, the format is a little different as there is a day off of games between each round.  The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 23, and the Championship is set for Friday, Mar. 25.  Both the semifinals and the championship will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, while Monday's games will be streamed on NCAA.com.
 
The Lady Blazers are 17-13 all-time in the NCAA postseason and 2022 is the 14^th appearance in school history.  VSU finished in the quarterfinal round in 1983 and a school-best semifinal appearance in 1984.  Western Washington is 18-16 in the postseason in its 17^thappearance and first since 2017.  WT leads the field in its 26^th appearance and the Lady Buffs have a 41-25 record all-time in the postseason for the most wins among the field.  The 17 victories by VSU are the fifth-most among the 2022 edition of the Elite Eight.
 
VSU is one of three No. 7-seeds to reach the Elite Eight, along with Missouri Western and Pace.  WT, North Georgia and Glenville State earned No. 1-seeds and Grand Valley State earned a No. 2-seed for the regional, while WWU was a No. 3-seed.
 
Just like the Lady Blazers, WWU used a big second quarter in the regional final, outscoring Cal State East Bay 22-13 in the second stanza for a 40-27 lead at halftime.  Duff finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Brooke Walling added 16 points and eight rebounds in the victory.  CSEB cut the deficit to seven late in the third, but WWU pushed the lead back to double-digits to end the frame.  WWU used a 19-16 fourth quarter for the 14-point victory.
 
The Vikings went 23-5 on the year and 10-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play this season under head coach Carmen Dolfo.  She is 641-250 in 31 seasons at WWU.  She guided the Vikings to the regular season league title and lost in the GNAC Championship, 57-46 to No. 3-seed Central Washington. WWU then defeated Alaska Anchorage (76-64) in the first round of the West Regional, followed by avenging the earlier loss to Central Washington (64-58) in the semifinals and won 73-59 victory at No. 15 and top-seeded Cal State East Bay.  This is WWU's third trip to the Elite Eight (2000 and 2013).
 
Duff earned second team D2CC All-Region honors this season and earned GNAC First Team honors.  The Vikings had five players earn All-GNAC honors this season.  Avery Dykstra was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, while her sister, Riley, earned Freshman of the Year honors.  Avery Dykstra earned second team all-league honors, while Mollie Olson, Walling and Riley Dykstra earned honorable mention honors. 
 
This season, Duff leads the team averaging 15.6 points per game on 149 of 344 from the field (.433).  She is 37 of 115 from deep and 103 of 122 from the line for a blistering .844 clip.  Duff averages 7.0 rebounds per game with 56 assists, 23 blocks and 34 steals.  She is the only player in double figures for the Vikings.  Walling leads the team averaging 7.6 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.7 points per contest.  
 
As a team, the Vikings are .441 from the field on 721 of 1634, while the team is 163 of 516 from beyond the arc (.316) and 343 of 475 from the line (.722).  WWU is averaging 40.5 rebounds per game and allowing 32.2 per contest.  The Vikings have 409 assists, 117 blocks and 202 steals, while averaging 69.6 points per game and allowing 57.0 per contest. 
 
Nationally speaking, the Vikings are 31^st nationally in defensive rebounds at 28.7 for tops in the GNAC, while they are 12^th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a .345 clip as of Mar. 14.  The Vikings are 11^th nationally in scoring margin at 8.4, while the 57.0 points allowed per game is good for 21^st nationally.  WWU is fourth nationally in 3-point field goal defense, holding teams to a .240 clip. 
 
In the national polls, Glenville State is third in the latest WBCA Top 25, which was released on Mar. 8, while Grand Valley State is sixth and North Georgia is seventh.  West Texas A&M is 23^rd, followed by VSU at 24^th and WWU at 25^th.  Pace and Missouri Western were unranked and not receiving votes in the poll.  
 
Entering the Elite Eight, the Lady Blazers have won 12 of their last 13 games and finished second in the Gulf South Conference regular season with a 17-2 record.  The 17 victories marked the most league victories in program history.  Farrar and Heyn both earned First Team All-GSC honors, while Farrar earned D2CCA All-South Region accolades.  
 
This season, Farrar has paced the team averaging 15.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game to lead the team in both categories.  Farrar is 200 of 353 from the field (.567) and has 54 assists, 64 made free throws, 33 steals and 23 blocks.  She has eight double-doubles for the year and has scored 15 or more points in each of the last five games.  As of Mar. 14, Farrar is 16^th nationally in field goal percentage (.567), while she is 36^th in offensive rebounds per game at a 3.7 clip.  She is 34^th nationally in field goals made with 200.  Farrar is 61^stnationally in rebounds with 248.  
 
Heyn is second in scoring at 13.4 points per game.  She is 118 of 270 from the field (.437) and is 55 of 129 from beyond the arc (.426), while going 85 of 109 (.780) from the line.  Heyn is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game with 60 assists, 60 steals and 20 blocks.  She has six double-doubles on the year and seven games of double figure rebounding for the season.  She is 79^th nationally in steals (60) and sixth in the GSC in free throw percentage at a .780 clip.  Graduate student Delaney Bernard leads the team with 57 triples made, while sophomore Tamiya Francis is 50^th nationally and second in the GSC in assists (114).  
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer is 62-20 in her third season at the helm of the Lady Blazers.  She was named GSC East Division Coach of the Year a season ago.