Women's Basketball | 11/15/2016 2:46:00 PM

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STATESBORO – The Georgia Southern women's basketball hits the road for the first time this season with a game at Clemson on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The game between the Eagles and Tigers will be on the ACC Network Extra with tipoff slated for 6 p.m. from Littlejohn Coliseum.

GAME SNAPSHOT 
Georgia Southern vs. Clemson
Wednesday, Nov. 16   |  6 p.m. EST   |   Littlejohn Coliseum (Clemson, S.C.)
Live Stats   |   Live Video (ACC Network Extra/Watch ESPN)   |   Live Audio (GS Sports Network)

SCOUTING THE TIGERS (@ClemsonWBB)
Georgia Southern and Clemson have met three times on the hardwood in women's basketball with the Tigers having won all three meetings. In Clemson, the Tigers are 2-0 against the Eagles. The two haven't faced off in 27 years with the last meeting coming on Feb. 1, 1989. The first meeting was on Dec. 17, 1979, and the last came on Feb. 1, 1989. Wednesday will mark the first time the two programs have met in Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers are coached by fourth-year head coach Audra Smith. Smith, who was at the helm of the UAB women for nine season prior to accepting the job at Clemson, is currently 28-66 with the Tigers and 166-204 in her over 12 years as a head coach. Last season, the Tigers went 4-26. So far this season, Clemson is 2-0 with wins over Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina. The Tigers defeated the Chanticleers 64-57 in the season opener last Friday and then defeated the Catamounts 78-63 on Sunday.

Clemson enters Wednesday's game shooting 36.8% (46-125) from the field and 26.5% (9-34) from three-point range. The Tigers are led by Nelly Perry's 15.5 points per game, Alexis Carter's 15.0 points per contest and Jaia Alexander's 14.5 points per outing. Of players who have taken more than 10 shots, Kobi Thornton leads the team with a 42.9% (6-14) shooting percentage through two games. Victoria Cardaci has taken a team-high four three-pointers. In the first two games, the Tigers have started Perry, Carter, Danielle Edwards, Ivy Atkism and Sirah Diarra.

2016-17 CU Roster
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LAST TIME OUT
After Sunday afternoon's home game against Thomas University, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team is right where head coach Kip Drown hoped they would be, 2-0. The Eagles reached the mark for the first time since the 2008-09 season with a 106-43 win over the Night Hawks of Thomas University (Ga.).

The Eagle (2-0) dominated in every phase of the game, shooting 54.2% (39-72) from the field, converting 34 Night Hawk turnovers into 53 points and out-rebounding Thomas (2-2) 49-36. At the same time, the Eagles limited Thomas to just 24.2% (16-66) shooting from the field and only allowed the Night Hawks to go to the free throw line once.

Five Eagles finished the game in double figures for scoring led by the senior tandem of Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler. McGowan netted a game-high 19 points off a 6-for-9 (66.7%) performance from the field and added in four assists and three steals. Butler – who extended her streak of games where she has finished with double-digit points to 11 – scored 14 points, including sinking three three-pointers, and had four blocks, a career high. She just missed out on a double-double as she corralled in eight rebounds.

Freshman guard Alexis Brown ended the game matching Butler's point production with 14 points of her own off a 5-for-7 (71.4%) shooting performance that saw the freshman hit three of her four treys. Alexis Foulks and Nakol Franks rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Eagles. Foulks scored 12 points, hitting five of her six attempts (83.3%) while Franks netted 10 points.

For the second game in a row, Georgia Southern was able to get valuable minutes for many of the younger players, something that will serve the Eagles well as they begin a stretch of four games on the road in a row.

The Night Hawks were led in scoring by J'Nyiah Daniels and Tess Wright's 12 points each. Daniels went 4-for-12 (33.3%) from the field while Wright hit on 57.1% (4-7) of her attempts. Both had a game-high four three-pointers.

EAGLES ON THE ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS
The Georgia Southern women's basketball team will play 10 games on the ESPN family of networks this season starting with Wednesday night's game at Clemson. The Eagles are schedule to play on the ACC Network Extra, the SEC Network+ and ESPN3. Georgia Southern's game at Alabama next week will air on the SEC Network+. Eight of the Eagles' Sun Belt Conference games will be featured on ESPN3, including home games against South Alabama, Coastal Carolina and UL Monroe.

YEAR TWO FOR DROWN AND COMPANY
When Kip Drown took over the reins of the Georgia Southern women's basketball program over a year ago, he knew the rebuild would be a process that required him, his staff and the players to be patient. After the first year, the Eagles are looking to take the next step in building a successful program and they will have plenty of experience to draw from both on the coaching side as well as on the court.

Despite being chosen 10^th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches' Poll, the team isn't looking to just roll over. The Eagles return plenty of talent and are a year older with more experience overall while also adding key pieces at every position. Last season, the Eagles had plenty of depth at certain positions, but were inexperienced at others. With at least three players at every position this year, and some players cross-trained at multiple positions, GS is prepared to take the next step.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS 2016-17 TEAM
Last season, the Eagles went 7-22 overall and 4-16 in Sun Belt Conference play, but they could have just as easily been 15-14 overall and in the top half of the league. GS had nine games that were decided by 10 or fewer points and went 1-8 in those games, including five losses decided by five points or less, four in conference games. Those are the games that Drown hopes his players learned the most from and are ready to win this year.

To get over the proverbial hump, the Eagles will turn to their experienced veterans who have played a collective 518 games, including 234 games started. The group of 10 returners have corralled in 1,325 rebounds and scored 2,818 points.
 
Included in the 10 returners are five players who started a majority of the games last season for the Eagles as well as the top three scorers and top three rebounders. Seniors Angel McGowan, Patrice Butler and Alexis Sams highlight the veteran group and will be relied upon even more heavily than a year ago.

McGowan was voted a first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection by the league's coaches earlier this month and Butler was tabbed a third-team selection. The duo were the team's leading scorers and Butler was also one of the top rebounders on the squad a year ago. Last season, Sams rarely left the court while running Drown's offense from the point despite being more comfortable as a shooting guard. McGowan, an All-Sun Belt Conference Second-Team selection in 2015-16, also rarely left the court and was also asked to take on a slightly different role at times, but this year, both will be able to move back into their more familiar positions.

Also returning are Trellanie English-Lurry, Rhein Beamon, Sierra Butler, Alexis Foulks, Jessica Marcus and Bri Reece, all of whom were key components last season and contributed at key moments. Last season, English-Lurry worked at transitioning from a shooting guard into a second point guard for the Eagles and will continue that role in the upcoming campaign. Fellow juniors Sierra Butler and Foulks as well as Beamon, a sophomore, will also see an expanded role as the Eagles look to push the tempo of the game and give teams different looks both on offense as well as defense.

Rounding out the Eagles' 10 returners, redshirt sophomore Jakayvea Akins returns to run the offense from the point, a move that will allow Sams and McGowan to slide back over to their familiar spots and will give Drown and staff the opportunity to turn the tempo up.

FIVE NEWCOMERS LOOKING TO MAKE A SPLASH
Last season, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team had to shuffle personnel around at times, forcing some players to play at positions they were not fully comfortable with. During the off-season, the Eagles added five fresh faces to the program, and all five freshmen fill voids for the Eagles and will add depth across the board, setting the Eagles up for growth not just this season, but well into the future. The five newcomers include guards Amira Atwater, Alexis Brown and Nakol Franks along with forwards Hailey Dias-Allen and Victoria Stavropoulos.

MCGOWAN AND BUTLER EARN PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT HONORS
Georgia Southern women's basketball student-athletes Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler have earned Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors as voted on by the league's coaches. McGowan, a senior guard from Greenville, S.C., earned first team honors and Butler, a senior forward/center from Norcross, Ga., was named to the third team.

NEXT UP
The Eagles are beginning a four-gram road swing that will take them through South Carolina, Alabama and Indiana. After Wednesday game in Clemson, Eagles will travel to Jacksonville, Ala., where they will take on the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State on Sunday, Nov. 20. The Eagles will then make the short drive to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama before flying up to Indianapolis to tangle with IUPUI before returning home for the final game of November at home against Mercer.


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