VALDOSTA, Ga. – Riding a 21-game winning streak, which is tied for the longest current winning streak in NCAA Division II, the No. 2 Valdosta State women's basketball team is scheduled to close out the regular season with a pair of home games at The Complex.  VSU will battle West Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. in the annual "Play for Kay" Pink Game presented by Southern OB/GYN as all fans are encouraged to wear pink.  Senior Day is set for Saturday, Mar. 2 at 2 p.m. versus Alabama Huntsville as the Lady Blazers will honor six outstanding seniors playing in their final regular season home game. 
 
VSU is 24-2 overall and 21-1 in Gulf South Conference play as the 21 conference victories are the most league wins in program history, surpassing the mark of 20-4 set last season in league play.  VSU's 21-game winning streak is tied for the best in program history with the 1983-84 edition as that team reached the national semifinals finishing with a school-record 30-3 mark.  The 21-straight victories are tied for fourth all-time in league history and the 21 victories all are against league competition, which is the second-longest winning streak against league teams in conference history as Delta State won 29-straight league games from 2006-2009, while DSU also won 33-straight games overall for the most in league history in 2007-08.  
 
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 locally with Mike Chason having the call on FOX 94.3 WJEM on Thursday and TALK 92.1 WDDQ FM on Saturday.  The games also are broadcast on www.foxsportsvaldosta.com and www.talk921.com, respectively.  
 
The 2024 Senior Class includes; Aleisha Curry, Emma Martin, Tamiya Francis, Lili Long, India Jordan and Taylor Searcey.  VSU would like to wish each of these ladies best of luck in their future endeavors. 
 
With two victories this week, VSU would claim the outright league regular season title for the seventh time in program history and the first when the league has not been split into divisions.  VSU last won an East Division title in 2020-21.  Union sits one game back of VSU in the league standings heading into the final week of play.  The Lady Bulldogs are 20-2 in league play, while Lee is third at 16-6, followed by Auburn Montgomery at 16-7.  All four teams have earned home games in the Quarterfinal Round of the GSC Championship on Mar. 5.  VSU will host a team to be determined on Mar. 5 at 6 p.m. at The Complex.  
 
Following the top four teams in the conference, there is quite a logjam for the final four spots in the league tournament as Mississippi College is 12-11, while West Georgia and West Florida at 11-11.  Montevallo and Delta State are 11-12.  Montevallo plays Auburn Montgomery to conclude the regular season this week, while West Georgia hosts Mississippi College and travels to Delta State and West Florida hosts Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama.  Union hosts Lee and Shorter, while Lee is at Union and at Shorter. 
 
The Lady Blazers remained No. 2 in the latest D2CSC Top 25 and the top team in the D2CSC South Region poll.  VSU moved up to sixth in the latest WBCA Top 25 this week after sitting eighth each of the past two weeks.  
 
Last Wednesday, the Lady Blazers were one of ten teams under consideration in the first NCAA South Regional rankings, released by the NCAA national office.  Along with VSU, the rest of the teams under consideration included; Auburn Montgomery, Eckerd, Embry-Riddle, Kentucky State, Lee, Miles, Nova Southeastern, Tampa and Union.  VSU is 5-2 this season against the current teams under consideration.  Wednesday of this week should be the first announcement of teams in seeded order in the afternoon.  The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Mar. 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Lady Blazers ran their road winning streak to 11 games with wins at Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery this past week.  The 11-straight road victories are tied for second nationally and the 21-straight conference victories are fourth nationally.  In the wins over Montevallo and AUM, the Lady Blazers shot .457 from the field on 59 of 129, while the team was 17 of 45 from distance (.378) and 15 of 17 from the line (.862).  VSU averaged 37.5 rebounds per game and 75.0 points per contest, while holding the opposition to 49.5 points per game and just .320 from the field on 32 of 100.  The Lady Blazer "D" forced 41 turnovers by the Falcons and Warhawks, while VSU had just 25 turnovers in the two games.  VSU outscored the two opponents 77-46 in the second half and 73-53 in the first half.  Junior Kalifa Ford averaged 12.5 points in the two games going 10 of 27 from the field (.370) leading three players in double figures.  Curry averaged 11.0 points per game and went 8 of 16 from the field, while going a perfect 6 of 6 from the line and averaged 5.0 rebounds per game.  Martin averaged 10.0 points and went 5 of 13 from distance to lead the team.
 
VSU head coach Deandra Schirmer is 108-30 in her fifth season in Titletown and 84-19 in GSC play.  She is 7-1 against UWA and 5-1 against UAH during her time at VSU.  The Lady Blazers overall have won 20 of the last 27 meetings versus West Alabama, including six-straight, while VSU has won five straight and nine of ten versus UAH.  The Lady Blazers are 43-15 all-time against the Chargers, since 1992.  
 
Nationally speaking, VSU sits eighth nationally and tied for lead in the GSC in field goal percentage at a 46.6 clip, while the team is ninth nationally in scoring defense at 53.8 points allowed per game to lead the league and ninth nationally in scoring margin at 17.9 for second in the league.  VSU also is ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a 36.5 clip to lead the GSC.  VSU is 27^th nationally in free throw percentage at a 76.2 clip to lead the GSC, while it is 16^th nationally in rebounding margin at a 7.1 clip to lead the league.  The Lady Blazers are second in the GSC and 29^th nationally in turnover margin at a 4.31 clip. 
 
Individually, Martin is tenth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a 44.3 clip on 54 of 122 from distance, while she is fifth in the GSC in 3-pointers made per game at a 2.08 clip.  Ford is second in the GSC in field goal percentage at a 49.3 clip on 139 of 282 from the field.  She is fourth in the GSC in scoring at a 15.2 clip to lead the team.  Curry is tops in the GSC in free throw percentage at an 86.1 clip for 29^thnationally on 87 of 101 from the line.  
 
West Alabama enters with a 6-20 record overall and a 5-17 mark in the GSC.  UWA is coming off an 84-62 home loss to No. 6 Union on Saturday.  Kamille Clark led three UWA players in double figures with 14 points, but UWA turned the ball over 28 times as Union led 31-8 in points off turnovers.  This season, Julia Rodriguez leads the team averaging 9.9 points per game on 90 of 218 from the field.  Kendall Lacoste is second in scoring at 8.6 points per game and leads the team going 46 of 135 from distance.  Clark is third in scoring at 7.8 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game.  
 
VSU won 64-44 in Livingston, Ala., on Jan. 13, 2024, as Ford paced the Lady Blazers going 6 of 10 from the field and one triple for 13 points leading three players in double figures.  VSU led 30-23 at halftime and then used a 23-6 third quarter to pull away for the 20-point victory.  The Lady Blazers held UWA to just 6 of 15 from the field in the second half, 0 of 7 from distance and 9 of 13 from the line.  Lacoste had a team-high 14 points for the Tigers.  VSU forced UWA into 31 turnovers leading to a 34-11 lead in points off turnovers. Tiger head coach Rusty Cram is 374-422 overall in 28 years of coaching, while he is 107-159 at UWA in ten seasons. 
 
Alabama Huntsville enters the week at 8-14 in GSC play and 9-16 overall.  UAH will play at West Florida, before heading to Titletown for Saturday's matchup.  The Chargers are under the direction of tenth year head coach Andrea Lemmond who is 109-151.  The Chargers snapped a five-game skid with a 70-55 victory over Christian Brothers on Saturday.  This season, UAH is led by Jesse Jennings who is averaging 10.3 points per game.  Bellah Machen is second in scoring at 10.1 points per game and leads the team from the field on 94 of 226 (41.6), while she is a team-best 47 of 142 from distance (33.1).  Jennings leads the team from the charity stripe, going 75 of 87 (83.9).  Bella White leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 per contest.  
 
VSU won 71-44 on Jan. 11, 2024, in Huntsville, Ala., behind 53 percent shooting by the Lady Blazers. Martin paced the team with 13 points on 4 of 4 from the field, 3 of 3 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line.  The Lady Blazers shot 53.5 percent for the game on 24 of 45, while they were 8 of 15 from distance and 15 of 21 from the line.  VSU forced the Chargers into 28 turnovers and held a 34-11 lead in points off turnovers.  The Lady Blazers won 29-16 at halftime and then used a 42-28 second half for the victory.