VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team puts its four-game winning streak on the line as it travels to the Volunteer State for two games prior to the Christmas Holiday.  The Lady Blazers battle Christian Brothers on Friday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. ET and then at No. 4 Union on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. ET.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  Friday's game will be broadcast on 94.3 WJEM FM Foxsports Valdosta and simulcast on TALK 92.1 WDDQ FM, while Sunday's game will be on TALK 92.1 WDDQ FM and talk921.com with Jack Calhoun calling the action both days.   Following the games, VSU will be off for the holidays until Jan. 2, 2024, when the Lady Blazers begin a three game home stand versus West Florida at 6 p.m. at The Complex.  VSU also will host Auburn Montgomery (Jan. 6) and Montevallo (Jan. 8).  
 
The games also will be streamed live on FloSports.  Click here for how to purchase FloSports.
 
Looking at the national rankings, Union sits fourth in the D2 College Sports Communicators Top 25, while Tampa is 11^th and Embry-Riddle is 18^th.  VSU and Lee are among others receiving votes.  Union leads the D2CSC South Region poll, followed by Tampa, Embry-Riddle and a tie for fourth between VSU and Lee.  West Florida is sixth, followed by Montevallo, Saint Leo, Miles and Kentucky State rounds out the top ten.  Rollins and Auburn Montgomery are receiving votes.  In the WBCA Top 25, Union is fourth, while Tampa is eighth.  Miles, VSU and Kentucky State are among others receiving votes.
 
The Lady Blazers enter the week with a 7-2 record overall and a 4-1 mark in Gulf South Conference play. VSU won 61-54 at West Georgia on Thursday in a hard-fought contest.  UWG opened the second half with a 9-0 run, but the Lady Blazers battled back to tie the game at 44 through three frames.  VSU outscored UWG 17-10 in the final stanza for the victory and was big at the stripe in the closing minutes, going 6 of 8 from the line in the fourth quarter compared to UWG's 0 for 2 for the frame.  Junior Taylor Searcey lead the way with 14 points and ten rebounds for her second double-double of the season leading three players in double figures.  Junior Kalifa Ford added 12 points off the bench and senior Tamiya Francis chipped in 11 points in her first action since Nov. 21.  VSU held UWG to 38.9 percent from the field and 5 of 10 from the line, while the Lady Blazers shot 43.8 percent and went 16 of 23 from the stripe, including 11 of 16 in the second half, while UWG was just 3 of 7 from the stripe in the final two quarters.  
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer is in her fifth season at the helm of the program and is 91-30 all-time and 67-19 in Gulf South Conference play.  Schirmer is 4-0 against Christian Brothers and is 2-5 against Union.  Her biggest win (and last win for VSU) against Union came in the regional final sending VSU to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1984 on Mar. 14, 2022, 66-58.  
 
Overall, VSU has won 13 of the last 19 in the series against CBU and five-straight dating back to a 94-89 loss at CBU on Jan. 13, 2018.  VSU won both meetings last season, 79-61 in Valdosta and 72-56 in Memphis, Tenn.  VSU has won eight of the last ten in Memphis also.  Union has won 16 of the last 21 games versus VSU, but the teams have split the last four meetings.  Union won two of three meetings last season, winning 74-54 in Jackson, Tenn., and then 58-52 in the first round of the NCAA South Regional in Tampa, Fla., after VSU won 60-54 in Valdosta on Dec. 11, 2022.   VSU has won just two of the last 12 meetings in Jackson.
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are ninth nationally and second in the league in field goal percentage at a .468 clip on 221 of 472 from the field.  Union leads the league at a .495 clip on 318 of 643 from the floor. VSU is second in the league in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a .369 clip on 178 of 482, while VSU is second in the league and 24^th nationally in rebounding margin at an 8.3 clip.  VSU leads the league in scoring defense, holding teams to 57.4 points per game, while the team is third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at a .361 clip for 33^rd nationally 56 of 155 from beyond the arc. Individually, senior Emma Martin is fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio at a 2.80 clip for 46^th nationally, while senior Aleisha Curry is fourth in the conference in free throw percentage at an .857 clip on 36 of 42 from the stripe.  Martin leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage at a .440 clip on 22 of 50 from distance.  Her 22 triples made are good for third in the league and 46^th nationally, while she averages 2.44 triples per game for fifth in the league and 58^th nationally.   Ford leads the team averaging 12.7 points per game, while Searcey is second in scoring at 10.0 points per game and leads the team at 6.6 rebounds per contest.
 
Christian Brothers enters with a 1-7 record overall and a 1-3 mark in GSC play.  The Lady Bucs snapped a six-game losing skid to begin the season with a 61-50 victory over West Georgia on Nov. 30 in Canale Arena in Memphis, but dropped their last outing in a 107-35 loss at No. 4 Union on Dec. 8.  CBU forces 18.88 turnovers per game for second in the GSC this season, while it is third in the league in steals per game at an 8.9 clip.  Individually, Jeremia Montgomery leads the team in just about every statistical category as she is fourth in the league in double-doubles with three, while she is second in the league in free throw percentage at an .875 clip on 42 of 48 from the line.  Montgomery is seventh in the league in points per game at 14.0 to lead the team, while she is sixth in the league in rebounds per game at 7.4 per contest. 
 
CBU head coach Addie Lees is in her first season at the helm of the program after serving as head coach at Arkansas State University Mid-South where she finished 19-11 last season.  Prior to that, Lees spent four years at Kilgore College where she led the team to a 75-42 record and three 20-win seasons.  She also coached at Texas State as an assistant coach.  
 
Union enters with a 9-0 record overall and a 4-0 mark in GSC play.  The Lady Bulldogs will host West Florida before entertaining the Lady Blazers on Sunday afternoon.  Union won by ten at West Georgia on Dec. 3, 96-86 for its second-closest margin of the season as it opened the year with an 87-78 victory at Lubbock Christian on Nov. 3.  Union head coach Mark Campbell is 722-112 in 25 seasons as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs.  
 
This season, the Lady Bulldogs lead the nation in assists per game at 19.4 per contest, while they are third nationally in field goal percentage (.495) and third nationally in free throw attempts per game at a 26.56 clip.  Union is second nationally in free throws made per game at 19.11, while the team leads the nation in scoring margin (35.4), scoring offense (101.1), 3-pointers per game (11.3) and turnover margin (15.11).  Union is fifth nationally in steals per game (17.2), fourth in 3-pointers attempted per game (31.3) and third in turnovers forced per game (32.11).  
 
Individually, Jazalyn Anousinh is 15^th nationally and tops in the league in assists (49) and 15^th in assists per game at a 5.4 clip.  Macey Lee is second in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .541 clip on 46 of 85 from the field as she leads the team averaging 14.6 points per game.  Shanique Lucas is second in the league in steals (27) for 20^th nationally averaging 3.0 per game for 27^th nationally and third in the league.  Lauren West is second in the league in 3-pointers attempted (69) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.406), while she leads the league in 3-pointers made (28).  Her 28 makes are good for a 3.11 average per game for eighth nationally and tops in the league.  Brooke Hampel leads the team averaging 4.1 rebounds per game.  Along with M. Lee, Lucas (12.7), Hampel (11.6), West (11.4) and Olivia Lee (10.0) also average double figures.