VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team closes out the 2022-23 regular season home slate with Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery this week at The Complex.  VSU and Montevallo are scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip on Thursday, while AUM visits on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip for Senior Day.

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 games also will be broadcast on the radio on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call and online at www.talk921.com. 
 
VSU enters with a 17-5 record overall and a 16-4 mark in the Gulf South Conference, while Montevallo is 11-14 overall and 11-12 in league play.  AUM enters with a 7-18 record overall and 6-15 mark in GSC play as it will travel to West Florida, prior to visiting Titletown on Saturday.  This also marks Senior Weekend for VSU as the 2023 senior class includes; Jirah Ards, Kendall Bollmer, Kayla Frey and Shanice Nelson.  Best of luck to each of these seniors in their future endeavors! 
 
The Lady Blazers enter the week after dropping their past two games and sit in a tie with West Florida for third in the league standings.  Both UWF and VSU have clinched home games for "Super Tuesday" on Feb. 28, while Lee leads the league standings with an 18-2 record and Union is a game back at 17-3.  If the GSC postseason tournament began today, VSU would be the No. 4-seed and host No. 5-seed Montevallo.  UWF has the tiebreaker by virtue of a win over top-seeded Lee, while VSU went 0-2 against the Lady Flames.  Tickets are on sale now for the Feb. 28 game in the VSU Athletic Ticket Office and following the games tonight and Saturday in the ticket office.
 
In the loss to West Florida last Saturday, VSU really struggled shooting the ball, going just 18 of 57 from the field for a 31.6 clip, while it was 5 of 17 from distance and 8 of 14 from the line.  The 31.6 average was the second-lowest of the season for the Lady Blazers (31.5 on 17 of 14 against Eckerd in the season-opener).  VSU has made just 36 of its last 107 shots (33.6) in the losses to West Florida and Union, while going just 9 of 34 from beyond the arc and 22 of 37 from the line.  The Lady Blazers have scored just 103 points in the last two games as they entered the Union game averaging 65.1 points per game.  VSU lost its first two games of the season and then won 13-straight. 
  
Thursday evening is "Play for Kay" Pink Night as all fans are encouraged to wear pink for the game.  The event, spearheaded by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), is named in honor of legendary North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease.  The Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and The V Foundation, is a charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause. The Lady Blazers have partnered with Southern OB/GYN who will provide 100 pink shirts to fans at the game to help promote the initiative.
 
The Lady Blazers enter looking to snap a two-game losing streak and are led this season by sophomore Taylor Searcey who averages a team-high 12.5 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.  Searcey is 87 of 194 from the field (.448), while she is 10 of 31 from distance and a team-best 91 of 109 from the line for an .835 clip.  Searcey has 152 total rebounds, including a team-high 59 offensive rebounds, along with 61 assists and 53 steals to lead the team. Junior Tamiya Francis, who hadn't played since Jan. 7 returned last Saturday versus West Florida, is second in scoring at 10.9 points per game.  She is 59 of 142 from the field, while she is second on the team in made 3-pointers with 28.  Junior Emma Martin leads the team from beyond the arc with 36 made 3-pointers. 
 
As a team, VSU is shooting at a .423 clip for the season, while holding teams to a .393 average.  The Lady Blazers are 134 of 409 from beyond the arc (.328), while they are 308 of 424 from the line for a .726 clip.  VSU is averaging 63.8 points per game and allowing 54.8 points per game, while averaging 33.3 rebounds per game and allowing 30.1 per contest. 
 
Nationally speaking, the Lady Blazers are tenth in scoring defense (54.8) to lead the conference, while they are second in the league in turnovers forced per game (20.1) for 43^rd nationally.  VSU is third in the league in free throw percentage (.726), third in free throws made per game (14.0) and third in steals per game (9.6).  Individually, Searcey is second in the league in made free throws (91) and third in free throw percentage (.835), while she also is third in steals (53).  Ards is third in the league in steals per game at a 2.48 clip. Head coach Deandra Schirmer is going for her 80^th victory at VSU as she is 79-26 in her fourth season at the helm of the Lady Blazers.
 
VSU learned Wednesday that it is one of ten teams in the South Region currently under consideration for postseason play.  Along with the Lady Blazers, also under consideration this week are Lee, Union and West Florida from the Gulf South Conference.  Represented from the Sunshine State Conference are Eckerd, Lynn, Nova Southeastern and Tampa, while Tuskegee and Savannah State are included from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The next regional ranking, scheduled to be announced Wednesday, Feb. 22, will be a full ranking in order of where teams stand heading down the stretch. 
 
The Lady Blazers downed Montevallo earlier this season 79-67 on Jan. 2, 2023, in Montevallo, Ala.  VSU trailed 18-11 after the first quarter, but caught fire, outscoring the Falcons 24-20 in the second quarter for a 38-35 deficit at halftime.  Second halves have been big for the Lady Blazers this season and this game was no different as they outscored Montevallo 44-29 for the final two frames, going 14 of 25 from the field in the second half for the 12-point victory.  Searcey had a season-high 24 points on 6 of 12 from the field, 2 of 3 from deep and a perfect 10 of 10 from the line leading three players in double figures.  Francis added 14 points and junior Aleisha Curry chipped in ten points off the bench.  Montevallo was led by 15 points off the bench from Savannah Cook for three players in double figures.  VSU held UM to just 9 of 23 from the field in the second half.  VSU has won ten of the last 12 meetings with Montevallo, including three-straight and has won five of six in The Complex.
 
On New Year's Eve, VSU posted a 75-56 victory at Auburn Montgomery as Searcey led the way with 16 points off the bench and four players were in double figures.  VSU shot 51 percent for the game (25 of 49), while knocking down five triples and was 20 of 27 from the line.  The defense held AUM to 38 percent shooting for the game, while forcing 24 turnovers and outrebounding the Warhawks 34-26.  AUM's Allasha Dudley and Trinity Hambright each had 13 points.  VSU has won the last 13 meetings in the series with AUM and is 6-0 at The Complex.