VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a win and a loss to open the second half of Gulf South Conference play, the Valdosta State women's basketball team returns to the road for three games, beginning Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET at West Florida.  
 
The Lady Blazers enter with an 11-8 record overall and a 6-7 mark in GSC play.  VSU sits in a four-way tie for sixth in the league standings entering the week.  West Florida is 14-5 overall and 10-3 in league play as the Argos are third in the standings this week. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The game also will be broadcast on the radio in Valdosta on 94.3 WJEM FM with Jaylan Scott having the call and online at www.foxsportsvaldosta.com.
 
VSU won 68-63 over West Alabama last Saturday behind 19 points and 12 assists from junior Aryana Hicks as she was 8 of 12 from the field, along with three free throws made, six rebounds and two steals.  Senior Kiersten Nelson just missed a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds on 7 of 13 from the field, while seniors Jacey Justice and Victoria Ikenasio had 11 and 10 points each, respectively, off the bench.  VSU led 53-52 through three quarters and used a 5-0 run to break a 57-57 taking the lead for good en route to the victory.  
 
On Monday, UAH posted a 68-47 victory over the Lady Blazers as sophomore Erin Whalen had a team-high 15 points off the bench with five rebounds to lead the team.  VSU shot its third-lowest percentage from the field for the season on just 19 of 51 from the floor (.373) as the 19 made field goals were the fewest in a game this season.
 
The Argos following a 68-58 win over West Alabama on Monday and a 69-65 loss to Alabama Huntsville last Saturday at home.  UWF enters the week 12^th nationally in 3-pointers per game at 8.7 for third in the GSC, while the team is 15^th nationally in 3-pointers attempted per game at a 26.5 clip for second in the league.  The Argos are second in the league in steals per game (10.4), while they are third in scoring offense at 72.4 points per game and second in turnovers forced per game at 19.6.  
 
Individually, Bella Stone is fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio at a 2.59 clip for second in the league.  Rylie Stephens leads the GSC in field goal attempts (242) and is fifth in field goal percentage (.426) on 103 of 242 from the field.  Stephens lead the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game for fourth in the GSC.  Bella Green is tops on the team in rebounding at 7.2 per game for fifth in the league.  From distance, Haidyn Pitsch is 24^th nationally in 3-point field goal attempts (140) for third in the league, while she is fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.364) and 19^th in 3-pointers made for fourth in the GSC (51).  She is 27^th nationally and fourth in the league in 3-pointers per game at a 2.68 clip.  
 
In the first meeting with the Argos this season, VSU came up just short in a 64-62 loss in Valdosta on Dec. 15.  In that game, VSU trailed by as many as ten points and tied the game at 59, but Pitsch hit a triple for a 62-59 score with 3:43 to play.  VSU later trailed 64-61 with 24 seconds left and then couldn't quite get a shot off at the buzzer, falling 64-62.  VSU was led by 15 points and ten rebounds from Whalen and Nelson added 13 points and ten rebounds.  Hicks had 15 points as well with three assists and three steals.  UWF was led by 13 points from Stephens as the Argos were 10 of 25 from distance in the game.  VSU struggled from the line, going 12 of 24, while the Lady Blazers held a 40-36 lead in rebounding.  
 
VSU leads the series 28-22 dating back to Dec. 16, 2000.  The Lady Blazers have won five of the last seven meetings in the series.  VSU won 56-49 in Pensacola, on Feb. 17, 2024, and has won the last three meetings on the road in the series.