GAME NOTES: Delta State at West Florida/Valdosta State (2.14-16.19)
CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Delta State University women's basketball (15-8, 10-6 GSC) hits the road for a pair of key Gulf South Conference contests against the University of West Florida (15-8, 10-6 GSC) and Valdosta State University (16-7, 10-5 GSC). The Lady Statesmen take on West Florida on Thurs., Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in Pensacola, Fla., before closing the trip against Valdosta State on Sat., Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. in Valdosta, Ga.
 
 
THE GSC RACE: The race for a top four seed in the GSC standings and the right to host a GSC Tournament first-round game on Tues., March 5 heats up this week for the Lady Statesmen.  Valdosta State enters the week in fourth, a 1/2 game in front of the Lady Statesmen. West Florida is currently second behind Union and a 1/2 game ahead of Lee University in the race seeing position.
 
RUSH WATCH:   Senior Alondrea Rush enters the week 3rd on the Lady Statesmen 3-point field goals made chart. The Horn Lake, Miss., native needs 4 3-pointers to pass current DSU Assistant Coach Chelsey Rhodes (206) for 2nd on the list.  Rush also ranks third in career 3-pointers attempted (594) and 29th on the career scoring list (1,143 points).
 
LADY STATESMEN REWIND: Delta State went 2-0 in two home games last week. Quantesha Patterson's career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds powered Delta State to an 83-54 victory over Christian Brothers on Thurs., Feb. 7. Nia Johnson's 18 points and Zyaire Ewing's 13 points lifted the Lady Statesmen to a 58-44 victory over Auburn-Montgomery on Sat., Feb. 9.
 
INSIDE THE UWF SERIES:   The Lady Statesmen ended a seven-game losing skid against the Argos with a 63-52 win on Jan. 10, 2019.  This will be the 26th meeting all-time with the Lady Statesmen owning a narrow 13-12 edge. The Lady Statesmen are 2-8 and have lost the last six games at the UWF Fieldhouse. DSU's last win in Pensacola, Fla., was a 51-42 win on Jan. 7, 2012.
 
INSIDE THE VSU SERIES:  Delta State leads the all-time series 38-10 heading into the 49th meeting between the schools. The Blazers enter the game having won the last five meetings, including a 69-60 win in Cleveland, Miss., on Jan. 12, 2019. Delta State is 13-5 and has lost its last two visits to the Complex in Valdosta, Ga. DSU's last win in Valdosta was a 48-38 cam on Dec. 17, 2015.

LADY STATESMEN DOUBLE-DOUBLES:  Quantesha Patterson has 5 double-doubles: @ Barry (18 pts. | 12 rebs.); @ Miss. College (18 pts.  | 12 rebs.); @ Union (17 pts | 14 rebs.); @ Christian Brothers (11 pts. | 13 rebs. & 25 pts. | 13 rebs).  Frederica Haywood has 3 double-doubles: vs. Spring Hill (12 pts. | 11 rebs); vs. Montevallo (14 pts. | 12 rebs.) and Alabama Huntsville (14 pts. | 14 rebs). Kirstin Brown has 1 double-double @ Arkansas-Monticello (11 pts. | 10 rebs.) and Zyaire Ewing has 2 double-doubles vs. Lane (13 pts. | 10 rebs.) and AUM (20 pts. | 11 rebs.)
 

NOTES, SIDEBARS & STORYLINES

Double-Digit Scoring: Quantesha Patterson has scored in double figures a team-high 13 times, including a career-high 25 points against Christian Brothers (2.7.19). Nia Johnson has scored in double-figure 13 times with a career-high 26 against Shorter (1.5.19).  Zyaire Ewing has 8 double-figure scoring games followed by Ernesha Chatman,  Alondrea Rush and Frederica Haywood with 7 double-    $figure games. 

Windex Ladies: The Lady Statesmen have out-rebounded their last 7 opponents by an average of +11.8, and have out-rebounded opponents in 18-of-23 games this year. Frederica Haywood has a team-high 8 double-figure rebound games followed by Quantesha Patterson with 5 double-figure rebound games, including a career-high 13 rebounds against Christian Brothers (2.7.19). Zyaire Ewing has 3 games with double-figure rebounds while Kirstin Brown and Raven Johnson, have 2 double-figure rebound outings. 

On The Road:  The Lady Statesmen are 5-5 and have lost four of their last five games on the road. The Lady Statesmen are scoring 67.3 points and allowing 64.7 points away from Walter Sillers.  DSU has a +7.9 rebounding margin. Nia Johnson averages 13.7 points and 3.0 assists followed by Quantesha Patterson's 12 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest and Alondrea Rush scores 10.4 points and dishes out 2.5 assists. The Green-and-White are shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, 32.2 percent from 3-point range and 75.8 percent from the free throw line on the road. 

Down The Stretch: Delta State has been clutch from the charity stripe in the final 5 minutes of games, shooting 77.5 percent (79-of-102) and 79.4 (54-of-68) percent in GSC play. For the season, the Lady Statesmen are shooting 70.2 percent.  Alondrea Rush is shooting 87.5 percent (91.7 GSC) followed by Ernesha Chatman's 83.3 percent and Nia Johnson's 76.2 percent down the stretch.