VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team opens the 2023-24 Gulf South Conference home slate Friday and Sunday at The Complex versus Delta State and Mississippi College, respectively.  The Lady Blazers and the Lady Statesmen tip at 6 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 1, while VSU welcomes Mississippi College Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Blazers enter with a 4-2 record overall and a 1-1 mark in GSC play after an 81-52 victory at Shorter Monday evening.  In the game Monday, the Lady Blazers had five players in double figures led by 12 points each from seniors Emma Martin and Aleisha Curry.  VSU limited the turnovers on Monday to just 13 for the game as that had been something plaguing the Lady Blazers in the first five games of the season. VSU shot 49.1 percent for the game and went 9 of 22 from distance, while going 16 of 18 from the line.  The Lady Blazers held the Hawks to 42.2 percent from the field on 19 of 45, while SU was 4 of 10 from deep and 10 of 15 from the line. 
 
Last Saturday, VSU opened league play at rival Lee as the Lady Blazers had the lead with just over three minutes to play, but turnovers and key free throws from the Lady Flames helped Lee to the 59-53 victory.  Senior Lili Long had a team-high 14 points, but 25 turnovers proved costly as did missing five free throws (13-18), while Lee was 17 of 18 from the stripe.  
 
For the season, junior Kalifa Ford leads the team averaging 12.8 points per game and is third on the team in rebounding at 5.2 per game.  Ford is 25 of 50 from the field and a team-best 25 of 29 from the line.  Martin is second in scoring at 10.5 points per game and she is 22 of 48 from the field (.458), while going a team-best 16 of 36 from distance (.444).  Junior Taylor Searcey leads the team averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, while she is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 points per game.  Searcey is 14 of 30 from the field (.467) and 14 of 18 from the line (.778) for third on the team from the stripe.  
 
As a team, the Lady Blazers are shooting at a .468 clip on 146 of 312 from the field, while the team is 36 of 100 from distance (.360) and 89 of 115 from the line for a .774 clip.  VSU is averaging 69.5 points per game and 37.0 rebounds per game this season.  Conversely, the team is holding teams to a .380 clip from the field on 124 of 326, while the opponents are 39 of 121 from deep (.322) and 75 of 108 from the line (.694).  VSU is allowing just 26.0 rebounds per game and have an 11.0 advantage in rebounding margin.  
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer is 88-30 in her fifth season at VSU and is 64-19 in Gulf South Conference play.  She is 4-2 against Delta State and 3-2 against Mississippi College.  
 
Delta State enters with a 3-3 record overall and a 1-1 mark in league play after a 106-70 setback on Monday versus No. 7 Union.  The Lady Statesmen are under the direction of second-year head coach Tracy Stewart-Lange who is 15-20 at DSU and 405-274 in 23 years of coaching.  In her first season in Cleveland, Miss., she guided the Lady Statesmen to a 12-17 record and an 11-13 mark in GSC play a season ago.  She is 0-2 against Valdosta State.
 
The Lady Statesmen are led by Wakiryah Daniels who leads the team averaging 16.8 points per game.  She is 30 of 78 from the field (.385) and 12 of 27 from distance, while going 12 of 14 from the line.  Jayla Smith is second in scoring at 11.3 points per game and second in rebounding at 5.7 per contest.  Smith is 24 of 44 from the field (.545) and 15 of 21 from the lien (.714).  Grace Watson leads the team averaging 7.8 rebounds per game this season.  As a team, the Lady Statesmen are shooting .412 from the field on 140 of 340, while the team is 39 of 98 from beyond the arc (.398) and 88 of 119 from the line.  DSU is averaging 67.8 points per game and 33.8 rebounds per game.  
 
Delta State leads the all-time series with VSU 41-15, but the Lady Blazers have won the last four in the series and 10 of 13 dating back to a 53-50 victory in Valdosta on Jan. 19, 2017.  VSU is 8-15 against the Lady Statesmen in Valdosta, but has won the last three there. 
 
Mississippi College enters the week with a 2-3 record overall and a 1-1 mark in GSC play.  The Choctaws will play at West Florida on Friday evening, before heading over to Valdosta for Sunday's matchup.  MC won 66-64 over Christian Brothers on Monday, snapping a three-game skid.  CBU cut it to one with five seconds left and had to foul as Kaylee Jones made one of two free throws.  The Lady Bucs had one last gasp missing the layup as time expired.  
 
This season, the Choctaws are shooting at a .365 clip on 91 of 249 from the field, while they are 24 of 63 from beyond the arc (.381) and 60 of 84 from the line (.714).  MC is averaging 53.2 points per game and pulling down 34.6 rebounds per game.  The team is allowing 69.6 points per game as teams are shooting at a .431 clip on 118 of 274, while MC is holding the opposition to a .231 clip from distance on just 15 of 65 and the opposition has made 97 of 129 free throw attempts (.752).
 
Individually, Karly Ivy leads the team averaging 9.3 points per game on 12 of 36 from the field (.333).  Amelia Bell is second in scoring at 9.0 points per game and leads the team in field goal percentage at a .526 clip on 10 of 19 from the floor.  She also leads the team in rebounding at 6.7 per contest.   Brett Gardner lead the team from distance at 9 of 26 from beyond the arc and is third in scoring at 8.2 points per game.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series with MC 23-12 since 1977 and has won three-straight in the series.  The Lady Blazers won both meetings last season with a 55-53 victory in Clinton, Miss., and an 82-31 victory in Valdosta.  The Lady Blazers have won seven of the last ten in the series and are 12-5 against the Choctaws in Valdosta.