Women's Basketball | 2/12/2016 1:32:00 PM

Georgia Southern (7-15, 4-9) at South Alabama (10-12, 6-7)
Saturday, Feb. 13 – Mitchell Center (10,000) – 3:00 p.m. EST

Live Video (ESPN3) | Live Stats | Live Audio 
Radio: 91.9 FM the Buzz

Series: GSU leads, 6-4, W1
In Mobile: USA leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: 1/7/16 – W, 57-43 (Statesboro, Ga.)

Probable Starters for Georgia Southern (Based on previous games):
#2 Trellanie English-Lurry, G
#11 Angel McGowan, G
#23 Alexis Sams, G
#25 Sierra Butler, F
#35 Patrice Butler, C

Georgia Southern Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@GSAthletics_WBB] [Game Notes (PDF)]

South Alabama Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@SouthALWBB]

INSIDE THE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
• Entering this week's games, the last eight teams in the conference standings are in heavy competition for the final five spots in the Sun Belt Conference tournament and it seems like anything could happen from second on down.
• The top eight spots in the standings are important because only the top eight teams in the final conference standings go to the conference tournament held in New Orleans, La. in March.
• UT Arlington has moved up into fourth after handing Texas State its fourth-straight loss Tuesday night. Arlington boasts a 6-6 conference record.
• Just behind the Mavericks, Troy, Texas State and South Alabama are all tied for fifth with identical 6-7 records. App State is in eighth with a 5-8 conference record.
• Georgia State and Georgia Southern are tied for ninth with matching 4-9 league marks while UL Monroe is 11th with a 3-10 SBC record.

WITHIN THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE (As of 2-10-16)
• As a team, Georgia Southern is currently sixth in the Sun Belt Conference for free throw percentage (.691), field goal percentage (.391), three-point field goal percentage (.304) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.311).
• The Eagles are also fourth in the league with an average of 24.6 defensive rebounds per game and are third with 6.3 three-pointers per outing.
• Angel McGowan continues to remain in the top-10 of the conference in multiple offensive categories highlighted by sitting fifth in the league with 15.5 points per game. She is also third in three-pointers made (2.1 per game), seventh in steals (2.0 per game), tied for seventh in minutes played (31.9 per game), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.359) and ninth in free throw percentage (.733).
• Patrice Butler also remains near the top in multiple statistical categories including sixth in free throw percentage (.754), tied for 11th in scoring (12.1 points per game), 13th in rebounding (5.6 per game) and 14th in the Sun Belt in defensive rebounds per game (3.8).
• Alexis Sams is second in the league in minutes played (35.9 per outing) and is also 15th in assists (2.6 per game) and three-point field goal percentage (.311) while Sierra Butler is tied for 18th in the conference with 5.0 rebounds per game and is also 15th with 2.0 offensive boards per game.

QUICK HITTERS
• In Saturday's 78-64 victory over Texas State, the Georgia Southern women set six team season highs including points scored (78), field goals made (26), field goal percentage (.520), free throw attempts (24), rebounds (43) and assists (18).
• Also in the game with the Bobcats, the Eagles held their opponents to just five free throw attempts and 23 rebounds, the fewest of either for any opponent this season against the Eagles.
• When Sierra Kirkland checked into Thursday's game in the second quarter, she made her 113th appearance for the Eagles, tying seven other former Eagles for 15th in program history in games played. If Kirkland is able to play in every game for the rest of the regular season (seven more guaranteed games), then she will be tied with Ashley Melson (2005-09) for second all-time in games played. If the Eagles can advance to the Sun Belt Conference tournament, and if Kirkland then plays in that game, she will tie Jessica Geiger (2006-10) for most games played in program history with 121.
• When senior Briana Jones swatted a ball away in the first half of Thursday's game at Troy, she tied Trina Roberts (1980-84) for third all-time in program history. It was her 79th career block.
• Junior guard Angel McGowan surpassed another career milestone Thursday in the first quarter. When McGowan drilled her three-pointer early in the game at Troy, she scored her 900th career point. In her 81 career games, McGowan averages 11.1 points per contest.
• McGowan is just three steals away from 20th all-time in program history, currently held by Andrea Autrey (1991-95, 134). She is also six away from 19th all-time (Ashley Rivens, 2005-09) and eight steals away from the two-way tie for 17th (Rosie Arnold, 1995-99 and Gwenda Smith, 1991-93).
• In Saturday's 78-64 win over Texas State, Patrice Butler scored 23 points, allowing her to eclipse the 700 point total for her entire collegiate career, including her time at Furman. Butler now has 734 career points and has played 73 collegiate games for an average of 10.1 points per game. She also has 343 total rebounds between Furman and Southern for an average of 4.7 boards per outing.
• Also in Saturday's win over the Bobcats, Alexis Sams drained three free throws, giving her 402 career points, an average of 5.0 points per game over her 80 career games.

THE HISTORY WITH SOUTH ALABAMA
• Saturday's meeting between Georgia Southern and South Alabama will be the 11th meeting between the two programs. Georgia Southern owns a 6-4 advantage in the series but USA has a slight 3-2 advantage in Mobile.
• In the last meeting between the two, Georgia Southern recorded a 57-43 win over the Jaguars on Jan. 7 in Statesboro to earn the first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season for the Eagles.
• In that game, Angel McGowan paced all scorers with 26 points off 8-for-13 (.615) shooting including 5-for-6 (.833) from three-point range and chipped in 5-for-7 (.714) free throw shooting. She also corralled in six rebounds and set a career-high with seven steals in 31 minutes of work.
• Patrice Butler also finished in double-figures with 13 points and added a game-high eight rebounds.
• For South Alabama, Erin Autio came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points while Genesis Perrymond finished with nine points in 36 minutes of work.
• In that game, the Eagles held the Jags to just 26.36% (15-57) shooting from the field including 22.6% (7-31) from three-point range.

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
• The Jaguars (10-12, 6-7) have won three of their last five games, and four of their last six after breaking a two-game skid with an 83-45 win over Georgia State Thursday night in Mobile.
• When the Jaguars faced off against Arkansas State on Feb. 4, the Jaguars held the high-scoring Red Wolves to just 58 points and 28.4% (19-67) shooting and lost by just seven points to a team that averages 73.7 points per outing and boasts a scoring margin of +14.3.
• While the Jaguars are statistically one of the bottom teams in the league on offense - entering the week, prior to Thursday's game against Georgia State, they were seventh or lower in six offensive categories including ninth in field goal percentage (.375), 10th in scoring offense (54.3 point per game), free throw percentage (.638) and offensive rebounds (10.0) and 11th in assists (9.6) - they are one of the top defensive teams in the conference.
• USA is in the top-five in five defensive categories including leading the Sun Belt in field goal percentage defense (.354), three-point field goal percentage defense (.278), blocked shots (6.0 per game) and defensive rebounds (27.4 per game). They are also fourth in the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score 58.2 points per game.
• Leading the Jaguars on offense is Marquita Daniels averaging 10.7 points per game. That number has her 18th in the conference. Daniels is also fifth in the league for steals per game (2.1) despite missing three games earlier this season.
• Chyna Ellis and Juliann Miller both lead the team with 21 starts this season. Ellis leads the team and is fifth in the conference with 7.4 rebounds per outing and she leads the conference with 2.8 blocks per game. Just a sophomore, Ellis averages 24.4 minutes per game and compliments her defense with .410 shooting and an average of 7.6 points per contest.
• Colby Davis is the Jags' second-leading scorer with 8.1 points per game and she leads the team with 58 assists. She has started 19 of the 22 games for USA and averages a team-high 29.4 minutes per contest.

NEXT UP
• After the quick swing through Alabama, the Eagles will return home for the final homestand featuring four games over an eight-day span. To start things off, Arkansas State and Little Rock will come to town on Thursday, Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb. 20. Then, on Monday, Feb. 22, the Eagles will host in-state rival Georgia State for the second rivalry game of the season. Georgia Southern will cap their home slate with a Thursday, Feb. 25 game against Appalachian State.

SEASON TICKETS
• Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available for both general admission and reserved seating. Fans can enjoy chair-back seats in the reserved sections for $90 a season ticket for either men's or women's basketball. Alternatively, general admission season tickets are $65 and are located behind the baskets on bleachers. A combo package is also available for $120 and includes both men's and women's basketball contests.


Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.