West Florida (5-1) at Valdosta State (4-1) Preview

Second-year UWF coach Stephanie Yelton looks to earn her first career win against VSU



When: 6:00 p.m. ET



Where: P.E. Complex (Valdosta)

 

Live Streaming: US Education TV (VSU)

Live Stats: Sidearm Sports

Tickets: www.ticketrun.com

Conference Matchup: Saturday’s contest marks the first in-conference game for both squads. VSU swept UWF last season. In the most recent meeting, the Lady Blazers held on to beat the Argonauts 68-65 last February. A month prior, the Lady Blazers managed to outlast their rivals 62-59.  VSU leads the all-time series 23-13 against UWF.   

Breaking down the Lady Blazers: After first five games, the Lady Blazers have looked promising. They are shooting 44 percent from the field and three of their four victories have been decided by at least 20 points. VSU, nonetheless, is coming off a sobering loss to Saint Leo. SLU forced VSU to a season-low 52 points. Lady Blazer transfer forward Amy Duke has been solid thus far – she has led the team in scoring the last two games and is shooting fine from three-point range (43 percent). Besides SLU, every team VSU has faced struggled to defend the Lady Blazers’ secret weapon: April Thomas. The Albany State transfer leads the team in points (14.8 percent) coming off the bench. Coach Kiley Hill certainly has received a helping hand from his handful of summoned transfers so far this season. The upcoming schedule only gets tougher with contending conference teams around the corner.

Breaking down the Argos:  UWF is on fire after extending their winning streak to five this past Saturday. The Argos’ second-half surge against Southwest Baptist was good enough for 81-76 victory at home. Now, UWF tries to continue the same success when they hit the road for its next two games. First stop will be in Valdosta. UWF features multiple scorers and sound defenders, which could potentially be problematic for the Lady Blazers. VSU will be tested defensively again competing against one of the better backcourts in the conference this weekend. Senior guards Tessah Holt (12.7 points per game) and Toynetta Johnson (12.0) are both averaging double figures. Johnson finished last game with 20 points and six assists. The Argos are averaging more rebounds (40.4-43.8) than VSU (5 more offensive) also. This stat line could make all the difference in the game’s outcome.

Eric’s pick:  80 West Florida 71 Valdosta State