VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team returns to the road this week as it travels to Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery.  The Lady Blazers are scheduled to play at Montevallo on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET, before traveling to Auburn Montgomery for a 2 p.m. ET tip on Saturday.
 
The Lady Blazers enter with a 10-5 record overall and a 5-4 mark in Gulf South Conference play.  VSU is coming off a 97-62 victory over Christian Brothers last Saturday and came up just short in a 72-63 loss to No. 12 Union a week ago Thursday.  Union used a 25-19 fourth quarter to pull away for the win as Lady Blazer senior Kiersten Nelson paced the team with 25 points on 10 of 11 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line.  The teams shot the exact same from the field as both were 26 of 55 from the floor, while Union was 8 of 24 from distance and VSU was 4 of 16.  The Lady Bulldogs were 12 of 17 from the line, while VSU went to the charity stripe nine times and made seven.  
 
VSU responded nicely with the dominating performance on Saturday as VSU shot a season-high 63.3 percent on 38 of 60 from the field, while it drained a season-high 14 triples and was 7 of 10 from the line.  Senior India Jordan led the team with a season-high 24 points on 8 of 11 from the field, while she was deadly from distance, going 6 of 8 and was 2 of 2 from the line.  Junior Aryana Hicks tallied a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists.  VSU held a 48-28 lead at intermission and then outscored CBU 49-34 in the second half. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of this week's games at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The games also will be broadcast on the radio with Jaylan Scott having the call on 94.3 WJEM FM and www.foxsportsvaldosta.com on Thursday and then on 92.1 WDDQ FM on Saturday and www.talk921.com.   
 
Heading into the final week of the first half of league play, Union is 9-0 and leads the standings, followed by Alabama Huntsville (8-2), West Florida (7-2) and Lee is fourth at 6-4.  VSU sits fifth at 5-4, followed by Delta State and Mississippi College who each are 5-5, while Montevallo is 4-5 in league play and 6-8 overall.  Auburn Montgomery is 3-6 in GSC play and 5-9 overall for ninth in the league standings.  Trevecca Nazarene sits tenth (2-7), followed by West Alabama (2-8) and Christian Brothers is 0-9.
 
Montevallo enters the week after splitting at Alabama Huntsville losing a heartbreaker in overtime, 67-61, and then winning 70-60 at West Alabama.  The Falcons are led by Lia Edwards who is averaging 12.7 points per game this season.  She is 39 of 98 from the field and is a team-best 43 of 54 from the line (.796).  Edwards is third on the team in rebounding at 4.9 per contest. Aubrey Sorrells is second in scoring at 12.3 points per game.  She is a team-best 65 of 140 from the field (.464) and is 24 of 33 from the line (.727).  Sorrells is second on the team in blocks with 11.  Jordan Gillies leads the team from distance on 16 of 47 (.340), while she is second in free throws made at 33 of 37 (.892).  Gillies is 51 of 128 from the field (.398) and leads the team with 61 assists and 30 steals.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series 33-9 and has won the last seven meetings, including the last four in Montevallo.  UM's last win came on Feb. 6, 2021, in Valdosta in a 78-70 victory.  The Falcons last win in the series at home was on Feb. 1, 2020, with a 90-67 victory.  VSU has won eight of the last nine on the road at UM.
 
AUM lost both of its games last week at West Alabama (73-70) and at UAH (89-49).  The Warhawks will host West Florida on Thursday, before entertaining the Lady Blazers on Saturday.  AUM is led by Allasha Dudley wo is 66 of 174 from the field (.379), while she is a team-best 25 of 75 from distance (.333) and 42 of 52 from the line (.808).  Dudley leads the team averaging 18.1 points per game and has 28 assists and 23 steals which both are good for second on the team.  Samya Brooks is second in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
 
The Lady Blazers lead the all-time series with the Warhawks at 17-0.  VSU won three times last season, including a 79-55 victory in the GSC Semifinal last March.  The Lady Blazers are 8-0 all-time in Montgomery against AUM and have won seven games there by double digits, including six-straight.  
 
This season, the Lady Blazers are third in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .454 clip for 21^st nationally on 409 of 901 from the field.  VSU is outrebounding its opponents at a 5.0 clip for second in the GSC and 58^th nationally, while it is second in the league and 52^nd nationally in steals per game at a 10.5 clip.  VSU is third in the league in turnovers per game at a 15.3 clip. 
 
Individually, Hicks leads the league in steals with 67 for 31^st nationally and leads the league in steals per game at a 4.5 clip for 33^rd nationally.  Sophomore Erin Whalen is tied for the league-lead in double-doubles (5) for 43^rd nationally, while she is tops in the league in defensive rebounds per game (6.6) and second in the league in rebounds per game at a 9.0 clip.  She is second in the league in steals with 32.  Nelson leads the team averaging 14.8 points per game for fourth in the GSC.  She leads the GSC in field goal percentage at a .546 clip on 83 of 152 from the field.  Nelson is second on the team in rebounding at 5.6 per contest.  She is fourth in the GSC in free throws attempted (63) and seventh in free throws made (40).