VALDOSTA, GA – The Lady Blazer basketball team finishes off their home schedule this week with two games at The Complex, starting with a 6:00 p.m. matchup against the visiting West Georgia Wolves.
West Georgia has proven to be a dangerous team when playing on their home floor this year, as the team has compiled a 6-6 record in Carrollton, Ga. Away from The Coliseum, however, their success has been a different story with a 1-9 road record.
Despite being ranked 9th in the conference, the Wolves have shown signs that they can be a dangerous team. The squad’s 3-2 stint over their last five games include a game in which they recently toppled the nationally ranked Delta State Lady Statesmen back on February 6th.
The Wolves feature two players who are averaging double digits on the year, Seandre Lee (10.6) and Marion Lemonnier (11.2). Lemonnier, a junior guard from Lyon, France, also leads the team in the assist column with 65 helpers on the year.
Serving as a strong presence inside this season for the Wolves is the 6-6 post player, Anastasia Riabchenko. The German forward holds a landslide lead in the Gulf South Conference in blocked shots on the year with 42. The number is just four fewer than the Lady Blazers have tallied as a team on the year.
Valdosta State enters Thursday night’s contest in the midst of a four game losing streak. The slide is the worst for VSU since the 2003-04 season when Valdosta State closed out the year with four losses, the last of which was a 60-49 overtime loss to Henderson State
The Lady Blazers will be aiming to alleviate their recent woes with a strong effort in front of their home crowd, where the team has performed favorably throughout the season. At home, Valdosta State has claimed seven of their ten wins.
Signs of promise for the Lady Blazers include a recent surge by Brooke Satterfield, who put up a season high 12 points in Monday night’s matchup against the West Florida Argonauts. The junior connected on four of her six attempts from the three point line for a .667 shooting effort from beyond the arc.
Free throw shooting has been an Achilles’ heel for the red and black as well this year, but in their most recent contest, the team buried 13-for-17 from the stripe for a 76.5 percentage.
Tip time for Thursday’s game is 6:00 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 8:00 p.m.. Lady Blazer and Blazer basketball is asking fans to don their favorite red VSU gear for the “Red Out The Complex” game. In addition, the first 1,000 fans to enter the gate on Thursday night will receive a free T-Shirt, courtesy of Coca-Cola. In addition, the game will also serve as yet another “Dollars for Scholars” event, where one lucky VSU student will win $1,000 courtesy of the Georgia Lottery.
Source: Valdosta State University Athletics
