Women?s Basketball Opens Conference Play at Appalachian State

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Women's Basketball (2-4) begins its 2011-2012 Southern Conference schedule at Appalachian State (4-1) on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C. The Lady Eagles swept the defending regular season champions last season, led by sophomore MiMi DuBose's (Jefferson, Ga.) career-high 25 points in the home win and senior Samantha Williams' (Kingsport, Tenn.) 18 points in Boone, also tying her career best. Georgia Southern has won four straight against the Mountaineers and is 33-13 all-time in the series.

"In conference play, every game counts towards seeding at the end of the year so every conference game is huge," said Head Coach Rusty Cram. "Road wins are even more valuable. You expect to win the majority of your home games, but the teams that survive the road games are the teams that finish high in the conference standings."

The Lady Eagles picked up their second win of the season on Saturday with a 72-49 victory over Jacksonville State in the consolation game of the Thanksgiving Classic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Georgia Southern took control of the game early, hitting seven of its first 12 shots to build a 38-22 halftime lead. Twelve different players scored in the game, led by senior Meredyth Frye's (Fredericksburg, Va.) 16 points.

Frye has set the pace for the team's balanced scoring attack on the season with an average of 11.2 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 4.2 boards per game.

Thursday's game marks the conclusion of a five-game road trip for the Lady Eagles. Appalachian State is looking for its fifth win in a row after sweeping games against Eastern Kentucky and Georgia State in the Georgia State Thanksgiving Classic. The Mountaineers are led by junior Anna Freeman's team-high 14.6 points per game.

"Our team knows what to expect when they go on the road now," said Cram. "To be successful, we need to minimize turnovers, rebound the basketball and execute our offense the way we know we can."

Thursday's game can be heard online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision. Justin Baker will have the play-by-play, beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff.

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