Eagles Return Home for Elon
12/4/2009 3:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, GA – The Georgia Southern women's basketball team has not played in Hanner Fieldhouse since the season-opening game on November 13, but the Lady Eagles finally return home on Saturday, December 5. The Lady Eagles play host to Southern Conference foe Elon with tip scheduled at 3 p.m.
The Lady Eagles (2-4, 1-0) officially kicked off the “second” season of the 2009-2010 campaign Wednesday night with a victory at Appalachian State. Three Eagles scored in double digits in the 73-68 win. J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) and Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) both pitched in a game-high 16 points, while Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) added 10. Both seniors (Ogburn and Whitney) also pulled down a team-high eight boards.
Despite losing the edge on glass, 42-39, Georgia Southern shot 84.0 percent from the free throw line, 21-of-25, while holding the Mountaineers to 8-of-21 shooting at the charity stripe. Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) improved to a perfect 19-of-19 from the charity stripe on the season, shooting two from the line in the first half. Whitney helped the Lady Eagles' 84.0 percent shooting going 9-of-10 herself.
On the season, Whitney leads the Georgia Southern offense averaging 10.5 points per game, while Ogburn follows narrowly behind with 10.3 points on average. Ogburn also leads on the glass with an average of 5.5 rebounds per game, while Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) pulls down 5.3 on average.
The Phoenix (2-3) will look to open SoCon play Saturday afternoon with their first road win and snap a two-game losing streak. Elon dropped an 83-67 decision to the Manhattan Jaspers Wednesday night. Ali Ford led the Phoenix with 19 points, 15 coming from behind the arc, while dishing out five helpers. Courtney Medley finished with 14 points, while Kelsey Evans led the team defensively with 10 rebounds. The Jaspers posted four players in double digit scoring, led by Abby Wentworth with 24. Nadia Peters added 17 and scored a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Elon committed 34 turnovers in 40 minutes, allowing 29 Manhattan points on its mistakes. Combined the teams totaled 56 turnovers in the game. Manhattan held the edge in the paint, scoring 38 of its 83 points from inside.
For the season, Ali Ford leads the Phoenix in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game. Ford also leads in assists, averaging 4.4 per contest. Kelsey Evans picks up 8.2 rebounds per contest to lead the Phoenix.
The Series: Georgia Southern holds the all-time series advantage, 8-5, over Elon, and is 5-1 while playing in Statesboro. The Lady Eagles swept the Phoenix in regular season action last season, but fell to Elon in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament. Georgia Southern will look to avenge the 57-54 opening round loss to Elon on Saturday.
Will Call: Season tickets for the 2009-2010 women's basketball season are currently on sale at $50 for a general admission pass. A flex plan, which includes five tickets that may be used at any home game, can be purchased for $25. Single-game tickets for adults are $8, while youth single-game tickets (ages 3-12) are priced at $4.
Saturday has also been designated Faculty/Staff day for all Georgia Southern University faculty and staff. GSU employees who present their University ID at the ticket booth will receive $1 admission into the game.
Tickets may be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office at (912) GSU-WINS (478-9467) or online at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/tickets.
