VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State Lady Blazers (17-8, 8-5) have their work cut out for them this Saturday when they travel to Pensacola, Fla., to face off with the West Florida Lady Argonauts (20-5, 11-2).

“I feel pretty confident. I’ve felt like we’ve played consistent. As a whole, we are playing better basketball,” said VSU head coach Kiley Hill.

West Florida has already won the GSC East title and VSU has already earned a berth in the conference tourney. Both teams are in the top 10 in the NCAA Division 2 women’s basketball south regional rankings, (VSU-9, UWF-7).

The first time around the Lady Blazers handed UWF a 64-57 loss at The Complex, but this time the Lady Argonauts will be on their home court with revenge on their mind. Or, West Florida will be taking a break getting ready for the tournament. Either way, VSU is in control of its own destiny.

“There’s no extra pressure, we’re just going to go out and play,” Hill said on Thursday. “We were kind of grinding ourselves, but we went back to being simple.”

A win would make Valdosta State a third seed, while a loss could make the Lady Blazers a fourth seed if Alabama-Huntsville wins its game against North Alabama. VSU and UAH are both 8-5 in the conference with VSU owning the tie-breaker from the regular season.

“In the tourney you want to play as few teams as possible,” said Hill. “I think we’re in good shape right now. People will be a little scared of us.”

The first time the two teams played VSU forward Candice Ferrell scored 20 points, while the Lady Blazers held UWF star Michelle Gibson to 11 points. Risto also contributed with 12 points for VSU, and Traci Newton came up with four steals.

Until Monday’s win over Montevallo, Newton had been lighting up the scoreboard. In the loss to West Alabama, Newton scored a season-high 28 points and led the team with 18 points in the win over Lincoln Memorial. “She’s (Newton) been getting the looks we’ve been practicing and she has created some good shots,” said Hill.

Another contributing factor to the success of VSU has been the bench. Collazo and Abreu (who started her first game) led the team with 13 points against Montevallo. Abreu earned the start after her presence on the boards, while Collazo has been automatic from three-point range, shooting .355 from beyond the arc.

“It’s massive,” commented Hill on having good bench production. “We’ve played 7-to-8 players that give good defensive production. We just need more offensive production.”

So with a game of this magnitude coming up and the playoffs lurking around the corner, who or how many players will it take to succeed?

“We are looking for 11 to 12 players to step up,” said Hill.

The game against West Florida will be on Saturday with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.