VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a disappointing 74-54 loss at No. 20 Union on Saturday, the Valdosta State women's basketball team returns home to host West Florida on Saturday at The Complex.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com. The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM and talk921.com with Mike Chason having the call.
 
The Lady Blazers enter the week with a 17-4 record overall and a 16-3 mark in GSC play.  VSU sits a half a game behind league-leader Lee who is 16-2 in league play, while leading Union by a half a game and a full game over fourth-place West Florida (15-4).  VSU clinched a home game for Super Tuesday on Feb. 28 for the Quarterfinal Round of the Gulf South Conference Championship.  Check back with vstateblazers.com in the coming days for more information on how to purchase tickets for Super Tuesday.  
 
VSU is coming off a split of two conference games in Tennessee last week with a 72-56 victory at Christian Brothers and the loss at Union.  Sophomore Taylor Searcey averaged 19.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game last week, going 13 of 26 from the field and 10 of 15 from the line with two triples.  She narrowly missed a double-double tying her season-high with 24 points at Union and pulled down nine rebounds.  She went 10 of 16 from the field against the Lady Bulldogs, while going 7 of 8 from the line with three made field goals, one triple and 14 points at CBU.  
 
As a team, the Lady Blazers shot .404 from the field for the two games on 42 of 104 from the field, while the team struggled from beyond the arc, going just 9 of 33 (.273) and was 33 of 44 from the line (.750). VSU outrebounded the opposition 70-62 for a +4 margin, while averaging 63.0 points per game and allowing 65.0 per contest.  VSU entered last week leading the conference in scoring defense allowing 53.5 points per game for fifth nationally.   Big seconds halves were the theme last week for the Lady Blazers as VSU outscored the opposition 81-61 in the second half, including 52-33 in the fourth quarter, while the opponents outscored the Lady Blazers 69-45 in the first half, including 36-20 in the first quarter.  For the season, VSU has outscored the opponents 729-581 in the second half, including 359-274 in the third quarter.  
 
West Florida enters with a 16-6 record overall and a 15-4 mark in league play.  The Argos are coming off an 83-73 victory at Christian Brothers on Saturday and an 88-62 loss at Union last Thursday.  The loss to Union snapped a ten-game winning streak as the Argos last loss before Union came at home to VSU on Dec. 18 in a 60-56 decision.  In that game, Searcey finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 5 from the line, while senior Jirah Ards had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Searcey earned a big "and one" in a tightly contested game throughout with less than a minute remaining for a 56-52 lead and Ards sealed the victory at the line in the closing seconds.
 
VSU improved to 26-20 against UWF since 2000 and has won three-straight in the series.  The Lady Blazers have won the last three in Valdosta and have won 15 of the last 22 in Titletown.  VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer is 79-25 overall and 59-17 in GSC play as she is going for her 80^th career victory.  Schirmer is 4-1 against UWF.  
 
The Argos are led by Jaclyn Jarnot who averages a team-high 16.3 points per game and 13.0 rebounds per game.  She is 140 of 313 from the field (.447), while she is second on the team from distance at 32 of 104 (.308).  Jarnot is tied for third on the team in free throws with 46 makes in 71 attempts, while she has 58 assists for second on the team, a team-high 43 steals and a team-best 21 blocks.  Zoe Piller is second in scoring at 16.2 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game.  Piller is 144 of 254 (.567) from the field to lead the team, while she is 69 of 106 from the stripe.
 
As a team, the Argos are shooting .421 from the field on 541 of 1286, while they are 129 of 426 from beyond the arc (.303) and 311 of 452 from the line (.688).  UWF averages 44.2 rebounds per game and allowed 32.1 per contest, while averaging 69.2 points per game and allow 60.1 per contest.  Nationally speaking, the Argos are fourth in rebounding margin at a 12.0 average, while they are seventh in defensive rebounds per game (30.3) and sixth in total rebounds per game (44.2) as all lead the GSC.  UWF is holding teams to a .359 field goal percentage for 32^nd nationally and tops in the league, while the team averages 20.5 free throw attempts per game to lead the league and good for 41^stnationally.  The team averages 13.9 offensive rebounds per game to lead the league and 43^rd nationally.  
 
Jarnot is third nationally in double-doubles with 15 for the season to lead the league, while she is fifth nationally in rebounding at 13.0 per contest.  Piller is 18^th nationally and leads the league in field goal percentage (.565).  Piller is third in the GSC in made field goals (143) and sixth in field goals attempted (253), while she is third in the league and 31^st nationally in rebounds per game at a 9.5 clip.
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are ninth nationally in scoring defense at 54.6 points allowed per game to lead the league.  VSU is second in the GSC in made free throws per game (14.3), while it is second in the conference in rebound margin at 3.7.  VSU is third in the league in scoring margin (9.9) for 47^th nationally, while the team is third in the conference in steals per game (9.8) for 58^th nationally.  Searcey is fourth in the league in free throws attempted (104) and free throw percentage (.837), while she is second in the league in made free throws (87).  Searcey is third in the league in total steals (51) and fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.7).  
 
Following the game this weekend, VSU continues at home next week as it hosts Montevallo on Thurs., Feb. 16 for the annual Play for Kay game as all fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.  On Saturday, Feb. 18, VSU will have its Senior Day in the final regular season home game.  The Lady Blazers then will conclude the regular season on the road on Feb. 23-25, at West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville, respectively.