Geiger Paces Lady Eagles to 53-45 Win Over UNC Greensboro
1/24/2009 5:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, GA ? Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) scored a career-high 17 points Saturday (Jan. 24) in Hanner Fieldhouse as the Georgia Southern women's basketball team handed UNC Greensboro a 53-45 defeat. The Lady Eagles shot 80 percent from the free throw line, going 20 of 25, in the win that improved them to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans never led in the loss that dropped them to 7-13, 4-7.
“On an emotional night, we came out focused and played hard,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “We keep our focus and poise down the stretch.”
The Lady Eagles shot 26 percent in the opening half and led by as many as 16 points twice as they dominated the playing field from tip-off. Georgia Southern was able to take a 10 point lead by the second official timeout as the Eagles held the Spartans scoreless through over six minutes of action. Lakiah Hyson scored UNCG's first field goal at the 13:15 mark as the Spartans trailed 9-2.
But the Spartans used an 11-0 run in four minutes to narrow the Eagles' lead to two points, 18-16, with 4:34 left in the opening half. A free throw from Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fl.) and jumper by Geiger allowed Georgia Southern to close out the opening half with a 21-18 lead. Geiger led the Eagles at half, contributing eight points, while Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) cleared away seven rebounds.
Georgia Southern shot 26 percent in the first half to UNCG's 25 percent. Hyson led the Spartans in the opening 20 minutes with seven points. It was a three-way tie for leading rebounder as Gini Grimsley, Amanda Leigh and Ashley Mullins each pulled down three boards.
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with a 17-6 run over eight minutes of play and led by 14 points, 38-24, by the second media timeout. Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) hit two free throws in the next minute before the Spartans went on a 15-0 run as Georgia Southern found themselves leading by one, 40-39, with 7:38 remaining in the game. Georgia Southern held the Spartans to six points for the remainder of the game following a three-pointer by Navarro with 5:53 left that sparked the Eagles to chip in five more points to round out a 53-45 win.
Georgia Southern won the edge on glass over the Spartans, 42-30, and visited the charity stripe 25 times, connecting on 20, to UNCG's 8 of 14. Geiger paced the Eagles in scoring with a career-high 17 points off one turnover and three steals, while J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) cleared away a team-high nine rebounds. Monique Floyd scored a team-high 11 points for the Spartans who were led by Hyson in rebounding, with five boards. The Lady Eagles led the entire game off 30 percent shooting from the floor to the Spartans 36 percent.
“I thought we did a great job in the post game today,” said Cram. “Jessica [Geiger] does 99 percent of the things right. She's just the type of girl you love to have on your team.”
Georgia Southern returns to conference action on Monday, January 26, when they host Elon. Tip-off in Hanner Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
“On an emotional night, we came out focused and played hard,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “We keep our focus and poise down the stretch.”
The Lady Eagles shot 26 percent in the opening half and led by as many as 16 points twice as they dominated the playing field from tip-off. Georgia Southern was able to take a 10 point lead by the second official timeout as the Eagles held the Spartans scoreless through over six minutes of action. Lakiah Hyson scored UNCG's first field goal at the 13:15 mark as the Spartans trailed 9-2.
But the Spartans used an 11-0 run in four minutes to narrow the Eagles' lead to two points, 18-16, with 4:34 left in the opening half. A free throw from Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fl.) and jumper by Geiger allowed Georgia Southern to close out the opening half with a 21-18 lead. Geiger led the Eagles at half, contributing eight points, while Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) cleared away seven rebounds.
Georgia Southern shot 26 percent in the first half to UNCG's 25 percent. Hyson led the Spartans in the opening 20 minutes with seven points. It was a three-way tie for leading rebounder as Gini Grimsley, Amanda Leigh and Ashley Mullins each pulled down three boards.
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with a 17-6 run over eight minutes of play and led by 14 points, 38-24, by the second media timeout. Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) hit two free throws in the next minute before the Spartans went on a 15-0 run as Georgia Southern found themselves leading by one, 40-39, with 7:38 remaining in the game. Georgia Southern held the Spartans to six points for the remainder of the game following a three-pointer by Navarro with 5:53 left that sparked the Eagles to chip in five more points to round out a 53-45 win.
Georgia Southern won the edge on glass over the Spartans, 42-30, and visited the charity stripe 25 times, connecting on 20, to UNCG's 8 of 14. Geiger paced the Eagles in scoring with a career-high 17 points off one turnover and three steals, while J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) cleared away a team-high nine rebounds. Monique Floyd scored a team-high 11 points for the Spartans who were led by Hyson in rebounding, with five boards. The Lady Eagles led the entire game off 30 percent shooting from the floor to the Spartans 36 percent.
“I thought we did a great job in the post game today,” said Cram. “Jessica [Geiger] does 99 percent of the things right. She's just the type of girl you love to have on your team.”
Georgia Southern returns to conference action on Monday, January 26, when they host Elon. Tip-off in Hanner Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
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