Women's Basketball Hosts Defending SoCon Champ Samford Saturday

Georgia Southern (4-19, 3-11) vs. Samford (12-12, 9-6)
Date: Feb. 16, 2013 - 7 p.m.
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse (4,358 capacity) - Statesboro, Ga.
Audio: Live on GSEagles.com and 91.9 FM
Video: Live on GSEagles.com
Web sites: GSEagles.com, SamfordSports.com
Coaches: Chris Vozab (4-19, 1st season), Mike Morris (194-130, 11th season)
Full game notes (PDF) | Live stats | VIDEO: Preview with coach Chris Vozab

Layup Line
■ Georgia Southern returns home for a pair of Southern Conference games this weekend.
■ The Eagles host Samford Saturday and Chattanooga Monday.
■ It's Cheerleader for a Day with special cheerleading performances by junior Eagles throughout the game. Parents of Cheerleader for a Day participants can purchase tickets at a reduced rate at sign-in.
■ Four of GSU's last six games of the regular season are in Hanner Fieldhouse, where the Eagles are 2-6 this season.
■ Samford defeated Georgia Southern 56-41 in the season's first meeting Jan. 14.
■ The Eagles have lost their last five and are coming off a 63-52 defeat at Western Carolina Wednesday. That game began a stretch in which GSU plays three games in six days.
■ Georgia Southern is in ninth place in the SoCon standings.
■ MiMi DuBose is leading the team in scoring at 13.5 points a game. The junior ranks eighth on the GSU career list in 3-pointers (126) and has scored 20 or more points in seven games.
■ DuBose has led the Eagles in scoring in 15 contests this season and passed the 500-point mark for her career with 21 in a win over Kent State Nov. 24.
■ Meredyth Frye has led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding in each of the last two seasons. The senior is 34 points away from the 1,000 mark for her career.
■ Anna Claire Knight is averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds a game. The sophomore has led the team in scoring four times.
■ Samford enters the game in fifth place in the league standings and is 1-3 in its last four.
■ The Bulldogs are 4-9 on the road and 3-4 in road league games.
■ Jazmine Martin leads Samford in scoring with 11.8 points a game. Taylor Reece averages 9.6 points, and Hannah Dawson averages 8.1 points and 7.3 rebounds.
■ The Bulldogs are shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and average 7.1 triples a contest.

Series History
■ Samford leads the all-time series, which began in the 2008-09 season when the Bulldogs joined the Southern Conference, 8-1.
■ The Bulldogs have won the last four, and their lone setback was a 67-66 decision Dec. 10, 2010, in Hanner Fieldhouse.
■ Samford is 3-1 against the Eagles in Hanner.
■ Last meeting: Taylor Reece posted 20 points and three assists, and Samford held Georgia Southern to 25 percent shooting to earn a 56-41 win over the Eagles in the Pete Hanna Center in the season's first meeting.
■ MiMi DuBose scored 16 points to lead the Eagles, and Meredyth Frye netted 12. Aishya Wofford pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
■ Reece was 9-of-17 from the floor and hit two triples for Samford, while Krista Strickland collected 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Christy Robinson scored 10, and Hannah Dawson finished with a game-high 13 boards.
■ After the Eagles fought back from an early deficit and trailed 27-23 at halftime, Reece scored seven points in a 12-4 Bulldog run to open the second half and extend the lead to 12 points.
■ Frye cut the margin to 10 points with a pair of free throws, but Robinson scored the first eight points in an 11-2 Samford run as the Bulldogs opened a 50-31 cushion to take control of the game.
■ The Eagles fought back with DuBose scoring five points in an 8-2 run, capped by a Frye 3-pointer that made the score 52-39 with 3:01 remaining. Reece answered with a layup for the Bulldogs, and Samford was able to work the clock on their offensive possessions to seal the win.
■ Last meeting in the Hanner: Paige Anderson scored 23 points and Samford topped GSU 53-47 despite shooting 25 percent from the floor in the second half.
■ The Bulldogs were 6-of-15 from the 3-point line while holding the Eagles to 1-for-14.
■ Meredyth Frye led GSU with 11 points, and Anna Claire Knight scored 10.

Quick Hitters
■ Four Eagles who have started multiple games this season have missed at least one game because of an injury. Three of those players saw games played streaks of 40 or more come to an end (Danielle Spencer, Meredyth Frye, Anna Claire Knight).
■ The Eagles have held two opponents without a 3-point field goal this season - Kent State, Nov. 24 (0-for-5), Appalachian State, Feb. 4, (0-for-7).
■ The Eagles are 44-28 in Hanner Fieldhouse in the last six seasons.
■ The Eagles' six-game road trip this season is their longest since a seven-game stretch in the 2010-11 campaign.
■ GSU played 10 of its first 12 games on the road. The Eagles played seven of their first 10 SoCon games on the road.
■ The Eagles have tallied double-digit steals in six games.
■ GSU has held five opponents under 35 percent field goal shooting.
■ MiMi DuBose (126) ranks ninth in all-time 3-pointers at Georgia Southern.
■ DuBose has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season.
■ Meredyth Frye played in her 100th career game vs. Western Carolina Jan. 7.
■ With 11 rebounds at College of Charleston Jan. 5, Frye surpassed 400 caroms for her career.
■ Frye has led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding in each of the last two campaigns, becoming the first Eagle since Tiffany Brown to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back seasons (2006-08).
■ Frye posted her third career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds at College of Charleston Jan. 5.
■ DuBose played all 40 minutes at George Mason (12/29) to become the first Eagle to play 40-plus minutes since Jamie Navarro played 41 against Chattanooga Dec. 18, 2010.
■ Anna Claire Knight hit the game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded in the Eagles' 61-58 home win over Wofford Jan. 20. It's the second game-winning buzzer-beater of the sophomore's career (at Mercer, 11/17/11).
■ Knight has two double-doubles this season - 20 pts, 11 reb at Georgia State (11/23) and 17 pts, 10 reb at Elon (1/28).
■ Danielle Spencer collected her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds against College of Charleston Feb. 9.
■ The Eagles opened SoCon play at Davidson Dec. 1. It's the fourth straight season GSU has opened league play on the road. The Eagles' first three league games were on the road.
■ The Eagles' 13 steals at Georgia State were the most since posting 17 against Wofford Jan. 24, 2011.
■ GSU's 71 points against Kent State were the most the Eagles have scored against a Division I opponent since a 72-49 win over Jacksonville State Nov. 26, 2011.
■ The Eagles' 24-point margin of victory over the Golden Flashes was their most over a Division I opponent since topping Mercer 76-45 Dec. 11, 2009.
■ The Eagles' 63-56 victory at UNCG Jan. 26, snapped a 10-game SoCon road losing skid. It was GSU's first road SoCon win since a 35-34 victory at College of Charleston Jan. 18, 2012.
■ Since the 2010-11 season, Georgia Southern has five losses by one point and 12 losses by five points or less. The Eagles have suffered three losses by four points or less this season.
■ GSU finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 1-8 record in non-conference games.

Category: Women's Basketball

Published on Sunday, 31 December 1899 19:00