VALDOSTA, Ga. – Returning home for the first time since Nov. 18, the Valdosta State women's basketball team is scheduled to host West Florida Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at The Complex.  The Lady Blazers enter with a 6-2 record overall and a 1-1 mark in Gulf South Conference play, while West Florida is 5-3 overall and also 1-1 in league play.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The game will be broadcast on TALK 92.1 FM WDDQ with Mike Chason having the call, while it will be streamed on FloCollege with Spencer Van Horn.  
 
The Lady Blazers split two GSC games this past week in the league-opening weekend as they won 72-67 at West Alabama in come-from-behind fashion and then had a six-game winning streak snapped with a 73-53 setback at Alabama Huntsville.  Against West Alabama, the Lady Blazers had 20 points each from senior Kiersten Nelson and junior Aryana Hicks, while junior Mary McMorris added ten points as VSU rallied from as many as nine for the five-point victory in the conference opener for both teams.  The Lady Blazers used an 18-12 third quarter and held a 57-47 lead with 8:28 to play, before UWA roared back and pulled within 66-63 with 46 seconds to play.  Free throws were a huge difference in the game as VSU was 21 of 28 from the line, while UWA was 11 of 18.  Moreover, VSU was 9 of 12 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and the Tigers were 5 of 10 for the frame.
 
Against Alabama Huntsville, UAH used a 25-11 first quarter to set the tone of the game.  Sophomore Erin Whalen had a team-high 14 points on 6 of 12 from the field, while she was 1 of 4 from deep and 1 of 2 from the line with a team-high five rebounds.  The Chargers had a strong shooting night, going 27 of 52 from the field for 51.9 percent.  VSU shot a 43.4 clip on 23 of 53, while VUS was 5 of 24 from deep and just 2 of 6 from the line, while UAH was 7 of 16 from distance and 12 of 16 from the line.  UAH held a 37-21 lead in rebounding.  
 
UAH leads the league with a 3-0 record for conference games and a 6-1 record overall and has won six-straight.  Union is 2-0 as is Montevallo in league play.  Six teams, including both VSU and UWF, are 1-1, while Trevecca Nazarene is 0-2 and West Alabama and Christian Brothers each are 0-2 in league play. 
 
The Argos won 70-61 at West Alabama and lost 69-54 at UAH this past week.  This season, UWF is led by Rylie Stephens who is averaging 17.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.  She is 44 of 106 from the field (.415), while going 13 of 34 from distance (.382) and 20 of 26 from the line (.769).  Haidyn Pitsch is averaging 15.3 points per game for second on the team and she is a team-best 19 of 61 from distance (.311) and 17 of 23 from the line. Liv Becker is averaging 12.3 points per game for third on the team. 
 
As a team, the Argos are shooting at a .389 clip on 211 of 542 from the field, while they are 70 of 225 from distance (.311) and 101 of 145 from the line (.697).  UWF is averaging 39.1 rebounds per game and allowing 41.4 per contest, while scoring 74.1 points per game and allowing 68.8 points a game.  The opposition is shooting at a .400 clip from the field on 201 of 502 from the floor, while the opponents are 60 of 176 from distance (.341) and 89 of 132 from the line (.674).  Argo head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton is in her 13^th season at the helm of the program and is 211-137 there.  She is 12-13 against VSU during her time as the UWF head coach. 
 
VSU has won 28 of the last 49 meetings in the series (28-21), dating back to Dec. 16, 2000.  VSU has won the last two and five of six.  The Lady Blazers swept the season series in 2023-24 with a 75-67 win in Valdosta, on Jan. 2, and then won 56-49 in Pensacola, Fla., on Feb. 17. UWF won 58-49 in Valdosta on Feb. 11, 2023.  VSU owns a 16-8 record in the series in Valdosta since 2000.  
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are averaging 73.1 points per game and allowing 62.8 per contest, while they are shooting at a .446 clip on 221 of 496 from the floor.  VSU is 42 of 147 from distance (.286) and 101 of 155 from the line (.652).  The Lady Blazers are averaging 35.8 rebounds per game and allowing 29.9 per contest.  Nelson leads the team averaging 16.1 points per game and is second in rebounding at 7.0 per contest.  She is a team-best 45 of 84 from the field (.536).  Whalen is second in scoring at 12.4 points per game and leads the team averaging 9.0 rebounds per game and has a team-high 18 steals and is third in assists with 19.  Hicks is third in scoring at 10.9 points per game, while McMorris is fourth in scoring at 10.4 points per contest.  
 
Following Sunday's game, the Lady Blazers continue at home next Thursday versus GSC newcomer Trevecca Nazarene at 6 p.m. and then on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. versus Lee, prior to the Christmas holiday.