Lady Eagles Fall at 19th-ranked Georgia
11/15/2010 12:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team battled 19th-ranked Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday afternoon, but could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit as the Lady Bulldogs came away with the 58-43 win. The Lady Eagles played well defensively and cut the lead to eight points three times in the second half, but Georgia responded with timely three-pointers to hold off Georgia Southern's charge.
Senior guard Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) had 10 points and a career-best nine rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Ro-Ro Smith (Blackshear, Ga.) finished with nine points each while Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) had seven rebounds for Georgia Southern. UGA's Porsha Phillips recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds with Meredith Mitchell matching her point total and contributing seven assists.
Georgia Southern went on an 8-0 run over four minutes in the first half to take a 15-14 lead over the Lady Bulldogs as Navarro keyed the run with four points and baskets by Smith, Danielle Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) and Frye. Georgia's Khaalidah Miller hit a three-pointer at the 7:10 mark in the first half to take back the lead for good for the Lady Bulldogs.
Despite less than 30 percent shooting in the first half, the Lady Eagles hung in with the nationally ranked Lady Bulldogs, causing eight turnovers. After Georgia Southern's run midway through the first, Georgia responded with a run of its own, mixing in layups and three-point field goals for a 30-19 score going into the half.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half with a quick basket, but a jumper from Frye and trey from Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) helped the Lady Eagles trim the lead to eight. The two teams traded three-point baskets until Tate made a layup at the 12:10 mark. The Lady Bulldogs brought their lead back up to 12 then GSU's Mimi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) connected on a jumper and Tate had another layup to bring the Lady Eagles back within eight, 42-34, Georgia.
Shooting woes in the second half for Georgia helped the Lady Eagles, but the Lady Bulldogs managed to get 11 points off the bench compared to Georgia Southern's four. Navarro hit a jumper and then converted on the three-point play for a UGA 47-37 score with just under seven minutes to play. The Lady Bulldogs would capitalize on a Georgia Southern scoring drought over the next three minutes to extend their lead again. Frye and Smith added three-pointers in the last three minutes for the 58-43 final.
The Lady Eagles play host to Mercer for their season home opener Tuesday, November 16th, at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets are available at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse one hour prior to tip-off and are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Fans may also purchase a flex plan - five tickets for $25 - which allows tickets to be used for either men's or women's games. Fans may use all five tickets at one game or split them between games.
Follow the Eagle teams on GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or get short updates on facebook.com/GSAthletics or twitter.com/GSAthletics. For in-game scoring, visit twitter.com/GSScores or follow live stats by clicking on the "live stats" link in the schedule section at the bottom of the athletics website www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
