Lady Eagles Hold on for First Home Win

STATESBORO, Ga. - Behind senior guard Samantha Williams' (Kingsport, Tenn.) 18 points, the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles won their first home game of the season with a 52-46 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins. Williams responded to her second start of the season by tying her career high in points for the third time after shooting eight-for-11 from the field.

"She looked great in practice last week," stated Head Coach Rusty Cram about Williams. "She has really turned it up a notch and is playing with intensity. She gave us her best minutes of the year at Davidson and its was a no-brainer for me to start her tonight."

Georgia Southern (3-8) trailed for the last time with 7:36 to play in the first half. They led by as many as 12 points but had to hold on for their first win since November 26th against Jacksonville State after Jacksonville (1-10) outscored the Lady Eagles 20-14 over the final 13:50 of the second half.

"I am very proud of them," said Cram. "They found themselves in an unusual situation with the lead in the last two or three minutes. Its a learning process and they have to build on these victories."

Meredyth Frye (Fredricksburg, Va.) joined Williams in double figures with 14 points, while Ro-Ro Smith (Blackshear, Ga.) almost doubled her season total with eight points and tied for a team-best six rebounds. Briana Scott (Dumfries, Va.) duplicated her efforts from Monday with six more points and five boards. On the other side three Dolphins tallied double figures including 14 points from both Abril Peeples and Crystal Bell.

An early first half 9-0 run sparked by Janay Wilson (Warner Robins, Ga.), who drove into the lane and hit a layup while getting fouled, handed Georgia Southern its largest lead in five games. Three Lady Eagles followed Wilson's made foul shot with jumpers to put the Lady Eagles up 9-4; however, Jacksonville tied the ballgame at 13-13 and took a two-point lead on an 8-2 run.

GSU entered halftime with a 23-22 lead after Williams, who tallied nine points in the first half, hit a three at the 7:14 mark and the two teams battled to a 7-7 tie over the final 5:57. Peeples recorded eight points to lead the Dolphins in the first period, while Bell tallied seven.

Frye powered a 13-2 run with six points, giving the Lady Eagles a 36-24 lead at the start of the second half. Jacksonville pulled within seven points at the 11:55 mark and trailed by just three points after Peeples nailed a jumper with 9:16 to play. Georgia Southern responded with six unanswered points to lead by nine with 5:03 to play.

The Lady Eagles return after the holiday break to host Southern Wesleyan at 7 p.m. on December 30th.

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Category: Women's Basketball

Published on Wednesday, 21 December 2011 20:32