Georgia Southern University
0-1
North Carolina A&T
1-0
Team Stats
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NC A&T Second-Half Run Downs GS Women's Basketball, 60-49, In Season Opener
11/10/2017 7:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Aggies go on a 16-0 run between the third and fourth quarters to pick up the win
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Georgia Southern women's basketball team dropped its 2017-18 season opener at North Carolina A&T by a 60-49 score on Friday evening in Greensboro, N.C.
The Aggies (1-0) avenged a season-opening loss to the Eagles (0-1) last season in Statesboro with the victory. Georgia Southern will return to Statesboro to open up its home slate on Monday, November 13th, hosting the College of Coastal Georgia at 5 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia Southern led, 45-39, with 1:40 left in the third quarter on an Alexis Foulks basket, but the Aggies ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, then continued that run into the fourth, holding the Eagles scoreless over a seven minute and 49 second stretch to take a 55-45 lead with what would end up being a 16-0 run. The Aggies finished off the contest, holding Georgia Southern to just one field goal and four total points in the first quarter.
"The bottom line, they started making baskets," Head Coach Kip Drown said. "We only had four points in the fourth quarter, shot nine percent from three. You can't turn the ball over 20 times, shoot what we shot, or you're gonna end up 49. The positive is that I thought we got some good shots, we've just got to make those. I'm disappointed in how we handled the press when they turned it up a little bit. We quit being aggressive and quit attacking.
"I told them if we'd won, it wouldn't define our year," Drown said. "And a loss is not going to define our year. We've got a lot of basketball to play. It's a situation where, yes, it's painful, but we're going to learn from it, we're going to grow from it. We're going to see a lot of pressure this year, and we knew it was coming. We'll go back and make it better."
The Eagles used an 11-0 run over a 3:30 minute stretch in the first quarter to build a 20-11 lead heading into the second quarter. North Carolina A&T closed the gap to five, 23-18, but back-to-back baskets by Sierra Butler and Jakayvea Akins stretched the lead back out to nine, 27-18, with 4:50 left in the half. A basket by Nakol Franks and a free throw from Sierra Butler in the final minute of the half would help the Eagles take a 32-24 lead into halftime.
After a first quarter that saw Georgia Southern hit 9-of-14 shots from the floor (64.3 percent), the Eagles made just nine of 45 shots (20 percent) over the final three quarters. The Eagles finished the contest 18-of-59 from the field (30.5 percent), while NC A&T shot 37.1 percent from the floor (23-of-62). Georgia Southern was just 2-of-21 from three-point range (9.5 percent) while the Aggies hit 6-of-21 shots from beyond the arc (28.6 percent).
Individually, Beamon led the Eagles on the night with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Alexis Foulks chipped in 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. North Carolina A&T placed three players in double figures, led by Cinia McCray's 16 points. C'Coreia Foy had 15 points and Shantell Bostick added 10 points off the bench.
Georgia Southern went 11-of-17 from the free throw line (64.7 percent) and NC A&T was 8-of-11 from the line (72.7 percent). The Aggies won the rebounding battle, 46-41, and turned the ball over 17 times compared to 20 for the Eagles.
