VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a thrilling 54-52 victory on Tuesday evening, the top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Valdosta State women's basketball team heads to Birmingham, Ala., for the Gulf South Conference semifinals versus No. 4-seed Auburn Montgomery Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University.
 
Fans interested in traveling to Birmingham for the semifinals and finals, can purchase tickets by clicking here.  The GSC Championship Central webpage can be accessed by clicking here with links to live stats, streaming and more.  Saturday's contest will be broadcast on TALK 92.1 FM WDDQ with Mike Chason having the call on the radio, while the game will be streamed on FloSports.  
 
The winner of Saturday's matchup will meet the winner of the No. 2-seed Union vs. No. 3-seed Lee game on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in the Gulf South Conference Championship, with the winner earning the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA South Regional.  VSU is 25-28 all-time in the GSC postseason tournament and has won three league tournament titles with the last in 2017, along with 1983 and 1984.  
 
This is the Lady Blazers' 32^nd appearance in the conference tournament and the 25 victories are the second-most all-time in league history, while the 32^nd appearance also is second-most all-time.  This is the 19^th trip to the semifinals for the Lady Blazers and the fourth-straight year of reaching the semifinals.  VSU is 8-10 all-time in the semifinals and 3-5 in the finals, as the Lady Blazers last reached the finals in 2019, falling to Lee, 81-73.  
 
AUM is 1-0 all-time in the GSC postseason tournament as it survived a thriller with West Florida Tuesday evening, 74-70.  The Warhawks are 20-9 overall this season and went 17-7 in GSC play.  In the game against UWF, Grace O'Gara scored 28 points in 40 minutes leading three players in double figures as she was 9 of 18 from the field, 5 of 9 from deep and 5 of 5 from the line.  AUM forced UWF into 14 turnovers leading to a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers as the Warhawks turned the ball over just six times.  AUM led by as many as 12 in the game as UWF cut it to one with 2:03 to play at 71-70, but the Argos were held scoreless the rest of the way.
 
In another nail-biter, the Lady Blazers came out on fire against the upset-minded Wolves in their final GSC postseason tournament.  VSU scored 15 of the first 18 points highlighted by three, 3-pointers from senior Lili Long, but UWG responded with a 10-2 run as the game was close the rest of the way.  VSU held a 36-29 lead at the break, but the second half the Lady Blazers were held to just five made field goals.  UWG took its first lead at 52-50 with 1:44 to play since it was 1-0 just nine seconds into the contest.  
 
In a wild final minute, Lady Blazer senior Taylor Searcey, who had a team-high 16 points as the only Lady Blazer in double figures, earned the "and one" for a 53-52 lead with 27 seconds to play.  She then had a block with 14 seconds and a huge rebound by senior Aleisha Curry who was immediately fouled.  Curry made one of two at the line with 11 seconds left.  UWG had time for one 3-pointer from Katelyn Dunning and Curry had the rebound as time expired for the 54-52 victory.  Searcey finished 5 of 15 from the field, 1 of 5 from deep and 5 of 5 from the line, while recording seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a career-high six steals.  Curry had nine points and five rebounds.  Despite shooting a season-low, 32.8 percent on 20 of 61 from the field, VSU was able to overcome poor shooting and played solid defense to pull out the victory.  
 
VSU is 27-2 overall and went a school-best 23-1 in Gulf South Conference play winning its first outright GSC regular season title when the league has not been split into divisions.  The 27 victories mark a new season-high for fifth-year head coach Deandra Schirmer, who won 26 games two years ago as she guided VSU to its first Elite Eight since 1984 with a 26-6 record.  Schirmer is 111-30 during her time in Titletown, while she has led the team to 24-straight victories this season marking the longest winning streak in program history.  The 24-straight victories ties Delta State (1986-87) for third-longest in league history as Delta State (2007-08) won 32-straight for the most in league history.  VSU's 23-straight conference regular season victories is the second-most all-time in league history as DSU won 29-straight from 2006-2009.  
 
The Lady Blazers went 2-0 this season against AUM and are 16-0 all-time against the Warhawks and 12-0 under Schirmer.  This is the first neutral site matchup between the two teams in series history.  VSU won 65-43 in Valdosta on Jan. 6 as the Lady Blazers outscored AUM 38-15 in the second half after trailing 28-27 at the break.  Long had a game-high 17 points on 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 5 from deep, along with three free throws in the game.  In the return game, VSU won 78-55, using a 27-15 fourth quarter for the victory as the Lady Blazers outscored the Warhawks 45-29 in the second half after leading 33-26 at intermission.  Senior Kalifa Ford had a game-high 20 points leading four players in double figures as VSU shot 49.2 percent and held AUM to just 33.3 percent.  
 
VSU went 2-0 this season against Union and 1-1 against Lee.  The Lady Blazers' last loss came at Lee on Nov. 25, 2023, in a 59-53 setback in Cleveland, Tenn.  VSU then exacted revenge in Valdosta on Jan. 20, with an 80-50 victory in a game that saw VSU shoot 54.3 percent and 52.9 percent from beyond the arc, while it was 21 of 24 from the line.  Curry led four players in double figures with 18 points off the bench as she was a career-best 12 of 12 from the line.  Lee's leading scorer Mallory Hampton was the only player in double figures with 15 points as VSU held the Lady Flames to 31.8 percent from the field on 14 of 44, while Lee was just 3 of 21 from beyond the arc and went 19 of 25 from the line.  
 
The Lady Blazers are the only team to defeat Union this season and have done it twice.  VSU handed the Lady Bulldogs an 83-68 setback on Dec. 17, 2023, in Jackson, Tenn., as Ford had a game-high 24 points, while Searcey had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.  VSU shot 54.5 percent for the game and 18 of 23 from the line, while holding Union to 32.8 percent shooting.  In the meeting in Valdosta, featuring two top ten teams, VSU won 74-56 behind 30 points from Ford on 10 of 23 from the field and 10 of 10 from the line with ten rebounds.  Senior Emma Martin added 13 points on 3 of 5 from the field, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the line.  VSU is 1-3 against Lee in the GSC postseason tournament and 1-1 against Union.  VSU and Lee have played in the tournament three of the last four seasons, while VSU downed Union in the semifinals in 2019, 68-62, and lost in the quarterfinals in 2020.  
 
Earlier this week, the All-GSC Teams were announced and VSU had strong representation on the teams as Ford was named GSC Player of the Year and first team all-GSC.  Schirmer was named GSC Coach of the Year, while Searcey and Curry earned second team all-league honors.  Ford is the first Lady Blazer since Shannon Williams to be named Player of the Year when the league has not been split into divisions. Williams won the award three times from 1988-1990.  Yolanda Jenkins (1994-95), Kathy Kennedy (1996-97), Tracy Sprolden (2000-01) and Kwajelin Farrar (2020-21) all were named East Division Players of the Year. Schirmer earned GSC East Division Coach of the Year honors in 2020-21.  Schirmer is the second Lady Blazer head coach to earn Coach of the Year honors multiple times (Kiley Hill, 2006-07 and 2009-2010).  Searcey earned second team all-league honors for the second time, while Curry earned all-GSC accolades for the first time.
 
Nationally speaking, the Lady Blazers are tops in the GSC and sixth nationally in field goal percentage at a .465 clip, while the team is seventh nationally in scoring defense (53.7) for tops in the GSC and eighth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a .364 clip.  VSU is ninth nationally in scoring margin (18.4) for second in the GSC.  VSU leads the league in free throw percentage at a .760 clip for 30^th nationally, while the team is 18^th nationally in rebounding margin at 6.8 to lead the conference.  VSU is second in the league in scoring offense at 72.1 points per game for 46^th nationally, while the team is 23^rd nationally in turnover margin (4.59 / 2^nd GSC), turnovers forced per game (18.97 / 2^nd GSC) and turnovers per game (14.4 / 3^rd GSC).  
 
Individually, Martin is fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a .453 clip on 63 of 139 from distance.  Her 63 makes are good for fifth in the GSC, while she is averaging 2.17 triples per game for fifth in the league.  Searcey is fourth in the GSC in assists (109) and fifth in steals (56) to lead the team.  Curry is third in the league in free throw percentage at a .841 clip on 90 of 107 from the line.  Ford sits second in the league in field goal percentage at a .484 clip on 149 of 308 form the field.  She leads the team at 14.5 points per game for fourth in the league.