Furman Forwards Too Much for Eagles in 57-48 Women's Basketball Loss
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman forwards Sarah Durdaller, Patrice Butler and Brittany Hodges combined for 34 points and 26 rebounds to lead the Paladins to a 57-48 Southern Conference women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Monday night in Timmons Arena.
Meredyth Frye had 15 points for the Eagles (6-21, 5-13 SoCon) and added five rebounds, while MiMi DuBose scored 13. Anna Claire Knight collected seven points and eight rebounds, and Ronnesha Smith (right) logged five points and six boards.
Durdaller finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Furman (12-15, 8-10 SoCon), and Butler had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hodges scored eight points, and Teshia Griswold posted 12 points and five rebounds.
The Eagles couldn't get anything going offensively in the first half as they hit 4-of-18 from the floor and logged 10 turnovers. A 6-of-8 performance at the free-throw line and some stout defense, which forced 13 Paladin turnovers and gave up just 31 percent from the field, kept them in the game.
After Eagle forward Sierra Kirkland hit a free throw to make the score 13-12 in favor of the Paladins, Furman outscored GSU 11-4 for the final 7:23 of the half and went into the locker room with a 24-16 lead. Butler scored nine of her 11 first-half points during the run.
Consecutive buckets by Knight trimmed the lead to four early in the second half, but Furman went on a 15-4 run, behind nine points from Durdaller, to open a 15-point cushion midway through the period. The Eagles whittled the margin to nine on a 3-pointer by Alexis Sams with 1:37 to play and forced a turnover to get the ball back.
Frye missed a jumper and Kirkland got the rebound but missed the putback try. GSU fouled Butler, who missed a 1-and-1 free-throw attempt with 55 seconds left, but the Eagles turned it over on their trip down the floor.
Georgia Southern wound up shooting 27 percent for the game, while Furman shot 35 percent. The Paladins held a 44-32 advantage on the boards and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.
"Furman is a very physical team, and in order to have success against them, you have to match their physicality on both ends of the floor," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "I thought we did that for the most part defensively but failed to do that on the offensive end, and as a result, we allowed ourselves to be rushed."
The Eagles play their final two regular-season games in Hanner Fieldhouse. GSU hosts UNCG Saturday, March 2, at 7 p.m. on Senior Night and takes on Elon Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night.
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 and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
- Category: Women's Basketball
- Published on Monday, 25 February 2013 21:55
