The Valdosta State Lady Blazers punched a ticket to the NCAA Division II tournament on Sunday night when it was announced VSU would receive an at-large bid to the tournament.
The Lady Blazers (19-8, 10-1 GSC) will be the sixth seed in the South region tournament, which makes up the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“I feel great about it,” Kiley Hill, VSU head coach, said. “I’m excited about the opportunity and I feel like we have a great draw in Fort Valley, and I believe they are someone we can be very competitive with and have a chance to move on.”
VSU is set to play third seeded Fort Valley State University on Friday night in Russellville Ark, which is home to Arkansas Tech, who earned the top seed in the tournament.
“We have to make shots and defend well,” Hill said. “From top to bottom [FVSU] brings great athleticism.”
FVSU, who fell in the opening round of their conference tournament last week, enters the game versus Valdosta State with a 26-2 overall record.
The Lady Wildcats enter the game averaging 67.8 points per game, while VSU enters the game 63 points per game. The Lady Wildcats are led by All-American Takesha Riggs, who averages 15.5 points per game.
Michelle Thompson enters the tournament as the leading scorer for the Lady Blazers with 10.9 points per game, despite not scoring in the GSC tournament loss to Delta State.
The winner of the opening round match-up will face either Delta State, whom Coach Hill has never defeated, or Lynn, who enters the tournament with an overall record of 16-10.
“Anytime you face a team for the second or third time, you know everything about them,” Hill said. “They know a lot about you too, but Delta spent a major amount of energy to get by us. I give them full credit; they beat us in the GSC tournament.”
The game versus Fort Valley State is set to begin at 5 p.m. eastern time on Friday and can be heard on Talk 92.1 FM. Read about the game at VSUspectator.com.