Lady Eagles Use Threes, Defense to Down UNC Greensboro
With the win, Georgia Southern improves to 12-9 overall and 8-2 in SoCon play. The record for most consecutive home wins for GSU is 19 games, spanning from Feb. 1981 to Dec. 1982.
UNC Greensboro’s two-game win streak was snapped with the loss and the Spartans fall to 5-16 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Senior guard Tiffany Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.) and sophomore guard Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) each buried four three-pointers, apiece, as part of the team’s 9-of-19 performance from behind the arc. Brown made 8-of-14 from the field and led all scorers with 24 points, a total that was both one shy of tying her season-high and three shy of tying her career-high. She made three steals on the day.
Whitney connected on 5-of-6 from the field, four of them coming from three-point land, as she tallied a season-high 16 points.
Leading the Spartans was Jasmine Dixon with 13 points, going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, and a team-high eight rebounds. She was followed by Lakiah Hyson with 11 points.
Carolyn Whitney set the pace for the team in the first half, opening the game with a jumper. She scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, hitting four of the team’s five field goals within the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Spartans held the game to within five points for the majority of the first half. The lead changed four times during that 13-minute period, with UNCG’s largest lead three points coming at the 14:25 mark.
Georgia Southern built up its largest lead of the half to 10 points thanks to a late three-pointer by Whitney with 24 seconds on the clock. UNCG’s Kendra Smith hit a jumper with time expiring to close the gap to eight points, and the Lady Eagles went into the locker room with a 36-28, halftime lead.
During the first half, Georgia Southern hit 7-of-13 (.538) attempts from three-point land, while its defense forced 13 Spartan turnovers, converting them into 11 points.
The Spartans started off the second half with a 6-2 run in the first three minutes, closing the gap to just four points, 38-34.
But over the next three minutes, the Lady Eagles responded with a 9-3 run that was capped by Brown’s triple at the 14:42 mark, giving Georgia Southern a 47-37 lead.
A tough GSU defense forced nine more turnovers in the second half, and despite UNCG’s 45.0 percent (9-of-20) second-half shooting, the Spartans couldn’t close the gap to less than eight points, and the Lady Eagles held on for the victory.
Junior guard Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) was responsible for an individual career-high six steals, contributing to the team total of 11. She also pulled down four rebounds, while sophomore forward J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) paced the team with five rebounds on the day.
The Spartans commanded the boards, pulling down 38 rebounds compared to GSU’s 27. UNCG coupled their rebounds with a solid 47.6 percent (20-of-42) field-goal shooting to stay close, but Georgia Southern’s three-pointers and solid defense made the difference.
GSU made 23-of-55 (.418) from the field, including 9-of-19 (.474) from downtown. The Lady Eagles outscored the Spartans in points in the paint (22-18), points off turnovers (17-11), second-chance points (13-5), and bench points (31-21).
Georgia Southern is tied for second place in the SoCon standings along with Western Carolina, after defeating Davidson, today. Chattanooga remains at the top of the standings, keeping its undefeated league record at 11 games.
The Lady Eagles have one day to prepare before concluding its two-game homestand, playing host to Elon, Monday, February 4, at Hanner Fieldhouse. Tip-off is slated for 5:15 p.m.
- Category: Women's Basketball
- Published on Saturday, 02 February 2008 00:25
