CLEVELAND, Miss. – The No. 6 seed Valdosta State Lady Blazers (16-12, 13-9 GSC) are set to travel to face the No. 3 seed Delta State Lady Statesmen (17-11, 15-7) in the Gulf South Conference Championship Quarterfinals on Monday evening at 8 p.m. ET in Cleveland, Mississippi.
The winner will advance to the GSC Championship Semifinals on March 5 to face the winner of No. 2 Union and No. 7 West Florida, with the higher remaining seed serving as host.
The matchup adds another chapter to a long-standing rivalry dating back to 1978, with Delta State holding a 42-20 advantage in the all-time series. Despite the historical margin, Valdosta State has succeeded in recent meetings, winning nine of the last ten contests between the programs. The teams split the regular season series in 2025-26, with each side winning at home.
As the team enters the postseason, junior Erin Whalen continues to lead the Lady Blazers in several key categories with 13.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. Whalen ranks ninth in the GSC in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and second in steals entering postseason play.
Senior Aryana Hicks is second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per contest and leads both Valdosta State and the Gulf South Conference with 5.1 assists per game. Hicks has paced the GSC in the Assist category throughout the regular season.
Sophomore Raeanne Eccleston enters the tournament following the most dominant performance of her career, having scored 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting in Saturday's regular-season finale at Montevallo. Freshmen Chardae Rumph and Rebecca Souverain have solidified starting roles after breaking out early in 2026.
Sophomore Ka'Miah Pryor and junior Alina Sapliak have spent the last several weeks rotating in the starting lineup. Pryor provides consistency on both ends of the floor, while Sapliak adds a perimeter shooting threat and defensive versatility beyond her position.
Additional key minutes have come from sophomore Alina Martin, who averages 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game off of the bench. Freshman Kaci Demps has been a staple off the bench, and junior Jada Williams has emerged as a reliable secondary point guard option after shooting a perfect 8-for-8 during last weekend's road trip. Freshmen Kendall Dykstra and sophomore Bella Hopkins have also strengthened the rotation following injury returns late in the season.
Delta State is led offensively by Jariyah Williamson, who averages 11.8 points per game while also pacing the Lady Statesmen with 2.5 assists per contest. Dakiya Toney adds 9.6 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game, while Olivia Allen contributes 8.0 points per contest and leads the team with 1.5 steals per game.
Looking Forward
With a win on Monday night, the Lady Blazers would advance to the Gulf South Conference Championship Semifinals on March 5 against either Union or West Florida, with hosting determined by remaining seed position. If the Lady Blazers win tomorrow, in the event of a West Florida win, VSU would host at the Complex. In the event of a Union win, Union would host in Tennessee.
Click here to see the full GSC Championship schedule and stay up to date with tournament seeding and matchups.
Find live stats, written coverage, streaming links, and more on vstateblazers.com and follow @VState_Blazers as well as @VSULadyBlazers to stay up to date with the team as postseason play begins.
