Lady Eagles Continue Homestand with College of Charleston

STATESBORO, GA ? The Georgia Southern women's basketball team continues its final three-game home stretch on Monday, February 16, welcoming College of Charleston at 7 p.m. The Lady Eagles will look to rebound from an earlier regular season loss to the Cougars as head coach Rusty Cram looks to earn his 200th career win.

Georgia Southern stands one game behind College of Charleston on the Southern Conference leader board. The Cougars are in second place, while the Lady Eagles are tied for third with Western Carolina. Samford and Chattanooga are tied for first with 15-2 conference records.

The first meeting between the two teams earlier this season occurred on January 19 when the Cougars handed the Lady Eagles a 42-52 defeat. J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) paced Georgia Southern the entire game, scoring 15 points and securing nine boards. Sarah Moye and Tonia Gerty each chipped in 10 points for the Cougars who visited the charity stripe 19 times, connecting on 13, to Georgia Southern's 5-of-10 attempt.

Georgia Southern (15-10, 10-6) enters Monday night's game coming off a regular season sweep over the Furman Paladins. Both teams scored an even 36 points in the second half, but the Lady Eagles outscored the Paladins, 30-21, in the opening half to secure a 66-57 victory. Georgia Southern had three players score in double figures who were led by Ogburn with 17 points, followed by Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fl.) with 13 and Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) who contributed 12. Navarro also led the team pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Melissa Liebschwager scored a game-high 19 points for the Paladins who were led by Shana Booker and Katie Johnson, each pulling down six boards.

Senior Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) continues to pace the Lady Eagles on the season, averaging 12.3 points per game. Ogburn follows Melson with 9.9 points on average and leads the team in rebounds with 5.5.

Coming off a 75-53 stomping over Wofford on Saturday, College of Charleston enters the contest on Monday boasting an 18-7 overall record and 11-6 conference tally. Four Cougars notched doubles figures in the game. Nikki Williams led College of Charleston with 14 points, followed by Jade Hughes and Tonia Gerty each with 13, and Brooke Kotcella with 12. Williams and Kotcella each secured a team-high five rebounds.

The Cougars are led on the season by Gerty who averages 11.9 points per game; Hughes stands one point back of Gerty, averaging 10.9 points per contest. Securing a team-high 6.6 rebounds on average is Williams who leads the team in rebounding.

Georgia Southern holds a decisive 22-10 all-time series record over College of Charleston. When playing in Statesboro, the Lady Eagles hold a 13-1 ledger. Coach Cram is 14-7 when facing College of Charleston who is 5-4 in conference road matches this season.

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