STATESBORO, Ga. ? Senior Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) scored a game-high 20 points as Georgia Southern defeated Appalachian State 69-53 in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Monday night (Dec. 1) at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles improved to 4-2 overall while the Mountaineers fell to 1-5.
“She (Ashley) is our team leader and is one of the most experience players on the team. She has been a great leader and has responded well on the court,” said head coach Rusty Cram.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an 8-3 lead within the first four minutes but from there Georgia Southern went on a 19-6 run and never looked back. A lay-up by Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) put the Lady Eagles ahead 31-20 with 2:40 left in the first half and led by double-digits the rest of the way.
In the first half, GS shot 39 percent from the field and was 4-of-5 at the free throw line compared to Appy's 32.3 percent without a free throw attempt.
Melson erupted for 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. She opened the second half with a 3-pointer and lay-up to extend the lead to 40-25. Over the final 20 minutes she hit 7-of-8 from the line. In fact the Lady Eagles were 21-of-26 for the game while Appy went 5-for-10.
Georgia Southern also held a 42-34 edge on the glass and forced 20 Appalachian State turnovers. Overall the Lady Eagles shot 39 percent from the field and held ASU to 35.6 percent.
“If you saw the Auburn game we lost the last 3 minutes of the first half. They took a six point lead and turned it into double-figures right before half so we've been using that as a key point in our players getting better,” said Cram.
Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) scored 11 points with six boards while J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Frances Hernandes led the Mountaineers with 19 points off the bench, including four of the team's six 3-pointers. Sade Means chipped in 12 points and five rebounds. Georgia Southern's starters out-scored Appy 55-20.
Georgia Southern continues a stretch of three games in six days, traveling to High Point for a non-conference game Wednesday night (Dec. 3).
