VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 2 Valdosta State women's basketball team continues on the road this week as it travels to Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery for a pair of key Gulf South Conference matchups.  
 
The Lady Blazers and Lady Falcons matchup on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by Valdosta State at Auburn Montgomery on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming for the games at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The games also will be broadcast on the radio in Valdosta on 94.3 WJEM FM and foxsportsvaldosta.com with Jack Calhoun having the call.  
 
VSU moved to No. 2 in the latest D2 College Sports Communicators Top 25 on Tuesday.  It is the highest the Lady Blazers have been ranked in the poll in program history.  VSU remained eighth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 (WBCA) poll also released Tuesday.  VSU garnered all six top votes in the D2CSC South Region Top Ten, while Nova Southeastern is second in the region poll, followed by Union, Tampa and Auburn Montgomery is fifth this week.  Lee sits sixth, followed by Embry-Riddle, Miles, Eckerd and Kentucky State rounds out the top ten.  In the national poll following VSU, Nova Southeastern is tenth, followed by Union at 14^th and Tampa is 23^rd among teams ranked in the South Region.  For the WBCA Top 25, Union moves to sixth this week from seventh, though VSU handed the Lady Bulldogs their only two losses this season, while VSU remained eighth.  Nova Southeastern is 16^th and Tampa is 19^th, while Miles is among others receiving votes.  
 
VSU is tied for the longest current winning streak in the country at 19 games with Azusa Pacific (Calif.), while Nova Southeastern is third with 18-straight victories.  The 19-game winning streak is the second-longest in Lady Blazer history with the longest being 21-straight during the 1983-84 run to the national semifinals.  VSU currently has won nine-straight games on the road to tie for the fourth-longest current road winning streak in Division II with Nova Southeastern. 
 
The Lady Blazers, who are 22-2 overall and 19-1 in Gulf South Conference play, are coming off a hard-fought 56-49 victory at West Florida this past Saturday.  In that game, VSU rallied from a 14-4 deficit in the first quarter, outscoring UWF 40-29 over the final three frames.  Junior Kalifa Ford finished with 21 points and ten rebounds for her second-straight double-double, while senior Taylor Searcey added 16 points.  In a battle of the top two field goal percentage defense teams in the GSC, VSU shot just 35.6 percent for the game on 21 of 59, while holding UWF to 34.0 percent on 16 of 47.  UWF stayed within striking distance going 13 of 14 from the line, while VSU was 10 of 16 from the stripe.  VSU held a 41-30 lead in rebounding on the top rebounding margin team in the GSC.
 
Nationally speaking, the Lady Blazers enter sixth in D2 in field goal percentage at a .466 clip to lead the GSC.  VSU is 619 of 1327 from the field, while the team is ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a .363 clip on 153 of 421 from distance.  VSU leads the league in scoring defense allowing just 54.2 points per game for tenth nationally, while it is second in the league and 11^th nationally in scoring margin at 17.2 points per game.  VSU is tied atop the GSC for 17^th nationally in rebounding margin at a 7.2 clip.  The Lady Blazers are second in the GSC in scoring offense at 71.5 points per game, while they are second in the league in steals per game (9.1), second in 3-point field goal defense (.287), second in turnover margin (4.00), second in field goal percentage defense (.369) and second in turnovers forced per game (18.75). 
 
Individually, senior Emma Martin is fifth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a .450 clip on 49 of 109 from beyond the arc.  Ford is second in the GSC and 49^th nationally in field goal percentage at a .506 clip on 129 of 255 from the field to lead the team.  She is averaging 15.5 points per game for fourth in the GSC, while her 129 made field goals also puts her fourth in the league.  She is fourth in the GSC in steals (48) and fourth in steals per game at a 2.18 clip.  Senior Aleisha Curry is second in the GSC in free throw percentage at a .853 clip for 38^th nationally on 81 of 95 from the line.  Her 81 made free throws puts her third in the GSC. 
 
Head coach Deandra Schirmer is 106-30 in her fifth season at VSU and 82-19 in GSC play.  She is 9-2 against Montevallo during her time in Titletown as VSU has won the last six in the series.  Overall, VSU is 32-9 all-time against Montevallo and is 12-7 in Montevallo, Ala., winning the last three there, dating back to a 90-67 loss on Feb. 1, 2020.  
 
VSU exploded in the second half, outscoring UM 45-20 for an 87-51 victory over the Lady Falcons in Valdosta on Jan. 8, 2024.  In the game, Ford scored 23 points leading four Lady Blazers in double figures, while junior Victoria Ikenasio had 16 points as did Curry and senior Lili Long added 11 points.  VSU shot 59 percent from the field for the game, while holding UM to 32 percent from the field (16-50).  Marisa Snodgrass had 16 points leading three players in double figures for UM.  VSU forced 14 turnovers leading to a 22-7 lead in points off miscues.  
 
The Lady Blazers are 15-0 all-time against Auburn Montgomery and 11-0 under Schirmer.  VSU is 7-0 all-time in Montgomery, Ala., and 8-0 in Valdosta including a 65-43 victory on Jan. 6, 2024, in Valdosta.  In that game, AUM led 20-18 through one quarter, but VSU clamped down defensively, holding AU to just 12 points overall over the next two quarters and 23 points over the final three frames.  VSU outscored AUM 38-15 in the second half.  Long finished with a game-high 17 points and four triples, while Curry had 12 points off the bench and Ikenasio added ten.  AUM's Tian Addison had 11 points for the Warhawks to lead the team.  VSU held AUM to just 32.1 percent shooting and just 3 of 21 from distance, while the Warhawks went to the line just six times.  VSU forced 20 turnovers for a 19-9 advantage in points off miscues as it shot 46.4 percent from the field and 8 of 23 from beyond the arc, while going 5 of 5 from the line.  The game had just 11 free throw attempts between the two teams and a combined 17 fouls.
 
The Lady Falcons enter at 13-11 overall and 11-10 in GSC play as they are tied for fifth in the GSC standings with Delta State.  There is quite a logjam with UM, DSU, West Georgia (10-10), West Florida (10-10) and Mississippi College (10-11) all between spots 5-9.  VSU leads the standings with a 19-1 record, while Union sits one game back at 18-2.  Auburn Montgomery and Lee are tied for third at 15-6.  West Florida plays at AUM on Thursday, before VSU heads to Montgomery for Saturday's matchup. 
 
Following the two games this weekend, VSU returns home to close out the regular season on Feb. 29 and Mar. 2, respectively, with West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville.  VSU will face UWA on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m., at The Complex for annual Pink Game Presented by Southern OB/GYN.  Saturday against UAH will be Senior Day at 2 p.m.
 
VSU already has clinched a home game for "Super Tuesday" on Mar. 5 at 6 p.m. at The Complex for the quarterfinal round of the GSC Championship against an opponent to be announced once the regular season has been completed.