STATESBORO, Ga. ? Three Lady Eagles scored in double-digits,
combining for 35 points, and leading Georgia
Southern to a 64-47 Southern Conference victory over College of Charleston,
Saturday afternoon (Jan. 19), at Hanner Fieldhouse. With the win, Georgia Southern remains unbeaten
at home (7-0) and extends its win-streak to five games.
Georgia Southern improves to 10-8 overall and 6-1 in
conference play and claims sole possession of the second spot in the SoCon
rankings, behind only Chattanooga
(7-0). Charleston's loss brings a four-game
win-streak to an end as the Cougars fall to 9-8 overall and 5-2 in league play.
Senior guard Tiffany Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.)
came off the bench to lead all scorers with 14 points, hitting each of her
field-goals from three-point land (3-of-5), and going 5-of-6 from the charity
stripe. Prior to tip-off, she was
recognized for her 1,000-point career milestone that was achieved just Monday
(Jan. 14) in the win vs. Furman.
Solid performances by senior guard Shawnda
Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.)
and sophomore forward Jessica Geiger
(Stone Mountain, Ga.) added 10 and 11 points,
respectively. Geiger went 4-of-6 from
the field and tallied four rebounds and three blocked shots, while Atwood hit a
pair of three-pointers and pulled down five rebounds.
Sophomore forward J'Lisia Ogburn
(Dublin, Ga.)
paced the team with six rebounds.
CofC was led by Nikki Williams with 13 points, going 7-of-9 from the
charity stripe, and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds on the day. She was followed by Erika Smith with 11
points and Deidra Jones with 10 points.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 7-0 lead within the first two
minutes of the game, capped by a three-pointer by Brooke Kotcella at the 18:37
mark.
Atwood's triple on the next possession broke the GSU scoring drought
and sparked an 18-0 run over the next seven minutes, claiming an 18-7 advantage
with 11:14 remaining in the first half.
During that window, Charleston
missed 10-consecutive shots before Erika Smith stopped the scoring drought on a
jumper, closing the GSU lead to nine points, 18-9.
But Georgia
Southern continued to widen the gap and ultimately pushed the lead to 15 points
thanks to Geiger's triple at the 5:22 mark.
Charleston fought back to close the gap to five points
and trailed Georgia
Southern 28-23 going into the break.
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Tiffany Brown receives commemorative basketball from Rusty Cram, marking her 1,000th-career point milestone.
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Georgia Southern held CofC to 21.4 percent (6-of-28)
from the field in the first half, thanks in part to a sturdy GSU defense that
blocked six shots. The Lady Eagles shined
from the field, hitting 12-of-28 (.429) of their field goal attempts before the
break.
Geiger paced the team with 10 points at the half, hitting all four
field-goal attempts, while CofC's Nikki Williams dropped 10 points to lead her
team.
In second-half action, Charleston managed to close the gap to just
three points (32-29) after Ashley Scott hit 1-of-2 of her free-throw attempts
with 16:47 on the clock, and later on Sarah Moye's jumper at the 10:08 mark again
brought the Cougars to within three points (41-38).
But Georgia Southern
never relinquished its first half lead, getting big three-pointers off the
hands of Brown and sophomore guard Carolyn
Whitney (Duluth, Ga.).
Brown scored all of her 14 points in the second half, which combined
with Whitney's seven, and the Lady Eagles held on for the key victory over the
Cougars.
Although the Cougars won the rebounds margin 47-38, Georgia Southern finished the game
going 21-of-51 (.412) from the field, compared to CofC's 13-of-57 (.228)
outing.
Georgia Southern's bench outscored the Cougars
23-16, while CofC tallied a 14-8 advantage in points in the paint. GSU scored 25 points off of CofC's 19
miscues, compared to 13 Cougar points off of 13 GSU turnovers.
The Lady Eagles will take a week off before concluding their four-game
homestand, hosting Western Carolina, Saturday,
January 26, at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m.
