The Lady Blazers fate in the Gulf South Conference will be decided with a three-game home stint over the next week, and it all starts tonight with a huge game against No. 1 GSC ranked opponent, Alabama-Huntsville.
The Lady Blazers face the North Alabama Lions in the second game of the stand on Pinkout Saturday.
The Lady Blazers are seeking redemption after falling to both teams earlier this season.
Out of the three teams, UAH is the biggest threat to snap VSU’s current 10 game winning streak against conference teams at home.
The talented Lady Chargers barely beat the Lady Blazers winning by just four points earlier last month and come into this rematch riding a four game winning streak.
UAH is a young squad with no seniors on the roster, but their success this season has put them into championship contention.
The Lady Chargers are led by All-GSC standouts Jasmine Hammon and Jordan Smith.
Smith dropped 26 points in the thriller victory last meeting.
Coach Hill understands Smith’s ability and plans to contain her better this time around.
“Jordan does a great job,” Hill said. “So our focus is to keep her under her average, and the only way we do that is not individual, but team defense.”
VSU forward Brittney Ferguson speaks for her team when she says they are looking for “revenge” tonight and knows that a defense first mentality will make that possible.
“I’m excited,” Feguson said. “That’s one thing here at Valdosta State we pride ourselves on is defense, points will come. As long as we score one more point than the other team. We just got to get stops. That is our main goal.”
Ferguson, who has received four player-of-the-week honors this season, tallied up 27 points and 19 rebounds in the loss to UAH last month.
UAH shot an impressive 42.9 percent behind the arc that night and VSU desperately needed scoring help down the stretch.
The Lady Blazers best shooter Sczeny Hartry was restrained all night long shooting 1-9 finishing with only three points.
The senior point guard emphasizes the importance of finishing games late and making key plays which they failed to do last time.
“I think if we execute the proper way well be fine,” Hartry said. “We just got to work on finishing. I don’t think we have to be overly aggressive. I think as a team we have a roster full of players who can step up at any given time. If I can continue to do my job as being a leader on this team we’ll come out with a win.”
The Lady Chargers look to sweep the Lady Blazers in regular season for the first time ever in 19 seasons.
One more win for UAH will mark the most wins in a single season since their 1984-1985 season.
The Lions, like the Lady Chargers, are looking to make a regular season sweep of their own against VSU too.
Fans attending the game Saturday are encouraged to dress in pink attire to help raise awareness of breast cancer.
“It’s a big weekend,” Head Coach Kiley Hill said. “This time a year all these games become magnified. This week does have some implications from a league standpoint, seating standpoint, but also from a national perspective.”