VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's basketball team returns home to host Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to open the second half of Gulf South Conference play.  It also is the 50^th Anniversary Celebration of women's basketball at Valdosta State and the 2025 VSU Athletic Hall of Fame Weekend.
 
The Lady Blazers and the Lady Chargers will battle at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23 and then entertain West Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m.  In addition to the 50^th Anniversary celebration, it also is the 28^th Induction of the VSU Athletic Hall of Fame.  Fans can purchase tickets to the Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10 a.m., in the Student Union Ballroom by clicking here.
 
Former VSU women's basketball standout Brittany Ferguson Bell (2010-2012) becomes the 20^th Lady Blazer women's basketball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Ferguson Bell earned Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America honors in 2012, while she averaged 16.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game earning first team all-region honors and first team all-GSC honors that season.  For her career, she played in 57 games with 54 starts, scoring 820 points and registered 484 rebounds in two seasons. 
 
Heading into the week, the Lady Blazers are 10-7 overall and 5-6 in Gulf South Conference play and are tied for sixth with Mississippi College and Montevallo through the first half.  Alabama Huntsville sits at 9-2 in league play and is tied for second, while the Lady Chargers are 14-3 overall.  West Alabama is 2-9 in league play and 2-13 overall this season as it is 11^th in the league standings. 
 
VSU is coming off a disappointing weekend with a pair of five-point road losses at Montevallo (69-64, OT) and at Auburn Montgomery (67-62).   Senior Kiersten Nelson averaged 15.0 points per game for the week, going 13 of 18 from the field (.813) and averaged 8.5 rebounds to lead the team.  Juniors Mary McMorris and Aryana Hicks averaged 11.5 points per game as McMorris was 10 of 13 from the line, making half of VSU's free throws for the week.   
 
The Lady Blazers shot .422 from the field against UM and AUM on 49 of 116 from the floor, while it was 8 of 35 from distance (.229), but was just 20 of 31 from the line (.645).  The Lady Blazers averaged 34.5 rebounds per game and 63.0 points per game.  The opposition shot .390 from the field (46-118), while it was 7 of 29 from distance (.241) and went 37 of 51 from the line (.725), making more free throws than VSU attempted.  The opponents averaged 39.0 rebounds per game and 68.0 points per game. 
 
For the season, the Lady Blazers are shooting .450 from the field on 458 of 1017, while they are 91 of 294 from beyond the arc (.310) and are 173 of 272 from the line (.636).  VSU owns a 34.3 to 30.4 average in rebounding this season, while the Lady Blazers are scoring 69.4 points per game and allowing 62.8 per contest. Nelson leads the team averaging 14.8 points per game on 96 of 168 from the field (.571).  She is second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 per contest.  Hicks is second in scoring at 11.3 points per game on 80 of 156 from the floor (.513).  She is second on the team in made free throws (28 of 40) for a .700 clip, while leading the team with 75 assists and second on the team in steals with 36.  Sophomore Erin Whalen and McMorris are tied for third in scoring at 10.3 points per game.  Whalen leads the team averaging 8.6 rebounds per game and has a team-high 36 steals.  She is 76 of 184 from the field (.413).  Senior Jillian Schenk leads the team from distance at 25 of 73 from beyond the arc for a .342 clip. 
 
VSU leads the all-time series with UAH 44-16 and has won 13 of the last 16.  UAH snapped a six-game skid with a 73-53 victory in Huntsville, Ala., on Dec. 7, 2024, in the first matchup between the two teams this season.  In that game, UAH opened the contest with a 25-11 first quarter en route to the victory.  VSU had 14 points from Whalen, while VSU was just 2of 6 from the line in the game and UAH was 12 of 16 from the stripe.  UAH had five players in double figures and four starters led by 18 points from Lili Wilken.  VSU never had the lead in the nor the game was tied.
 
The Chargers are led this season by Wilken who is averaging 14.3 points per game on 90 of 2018 from the field (.448).  She is 23 of 73 from distance (.315) and a team-best 40 of 53 from the line (.755).  Wilken is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game to lead the team, while she has 61 assists and 35 steals which both lead the team.  Alexis Woods is second in scoring at 10.8 points per game, while Millie Brown is third in scoring at 10.5 points per game and leads the team from distance on 54 of 145 from beyond the arc (.372) with all but five of her made field goals this season are from long range. 
 
UAH is shooting a .465 clip this season on 467 of 1005 from the field, while it is 158 of 438 from distance (.361) and 187 of 259 from the line (.722).  The Chargers average 42.8 rebounds per game and 75.2 points per game, while allowing 28.7 rebounds per game and 56.4 points per game. UAH is holding teams to a .368 clip from the field on 352 of 956 from the floor, while the opposition is 106 of 377 from distance (.281) and 148 of 234 from the line (.632). 
 
Head coach Allen Sharpe is in his first season at the helm of the Chargers.  He is no stranger to the GSC as he was head coach of the men's program at West Alabama from 2014-2020, as well as the head coach for the men's team at Arkansas-Monticello (2010-2014).  Most recently, he was the head men's and women's coach at Wallace State for his second stint there.
 
West Alabama will play at West Florida on Thursday, before heading to Titletown for Saturday's matchup.  The Tigers are under the direction of first year head coach Tiffany Morton who was on the staff at Wisconsin in 2024.  Morton also had stints at Rice, Georgia State, Mercer, Wagner, LSU and Montevallo and began her coaching career at her alma mater of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she was a three-year member of the Warhawks.
 
This season, the Tigers are led by Kendall Lacoste who is 70 of 202 from the field (.347), while she leads the team at 33 of 114 from distance (.289) and 29 of 35 from the line (.829).  Lacoste is averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game.  As a team, the Tigers are shooting a .386 clip on 324 of 886 from the field, while they are 79 of 274 from the beyond the arc (.288) and 170 of 262 from the line (.649).  The Tigers are averaging 36.3 rebounds per game and 59.8 points per game. 
 
VSU has won 22 of the last 29 games in the series and the last eight straight, including a 72-67 victory in Livingston, Ala., on Dec. 5, 2024.  In that game, Hicks, Nelson and McMorris scored 50 of the team's 72 points with Hicks and Nelson finishing with 20 points each.  All five starters for UWA were in double figures led by 14 points from Callie Cowan.  Turnovers proved to be key in the game as VSU capitalized for a 28-14 lead in points off turnovers and went 21 of 28 from the line, while UWA was 11 of 18 from the stripe.