Lady Eagles Seek Program Win Number 600 Friday
1/13/2011 1:50:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Program heads into a 7 p.m. matchup with Western Carolina on Friday seeking its 600th all-time win. The Lady Eagles are 599-452 in 1,051 games and have been led by head coach Rusty Cram in over 400 of them. GSU will wrap up a three-game homestand against the Catamounts. The Lady Eagles are currently 2-0 on the homestand after defeating Davidson and Appalachian State and are riding a five-game home winning streak.
"Western Carolina is playing well and has had the toughest schedule in the conference. Karen [Middleton] has done a great job with them and they are getting better every time they play," said head coach Rusty Cram. "They are quick, physical and they shoot the basketball well. They play a tough brand of basketball, and I am glad we play them on our court."
Three players are averaging double figures for Georgia Southern with senior Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) leading the way with 12.7 points per game. Navarro has scored in double digits, a team-best 11 times this season. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) and MiMi Dubose (Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson) both average 10.5 points per game, while Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga./St. Pius X) stands just below the double-digit mark with 9.8 points per contest.
The Lady Eagles picked up their seventh overall win and fourth in the SoCon with a 73-65 victory over Appalachian State Monday. GSU went on a 15-1 run to take a seven-point lead over Appalachian State in the first half and never looked back. The Lady Eagles extended their home-winning streak to five games with the win and have won six out of the last eight contests after starting the season 1-8. MiMi Dubose led all players with a career-best 25 points, while Tate added 16 and seven rebounds. Briana Scott (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) was the third Lady Eagle to score in double figures with 10 points and played a career-best 30 minutes.
"To compete in the conference you have to take care of your home games first," said Cram. "You are in your comfort level at home and don't have to go through all the traveling prior to the game and are a lot more relaxed playing in the gym that you practice in everyday."
Georgia Southern has won the last four meetings with Western Carolina and swept the season series in both the 2008-09 season and the 2009-10 season. The Lady Eagles won last season's contests by a combined score of 136-109. Navarro scored 13 points in both games to help GSU claim a pair of wins. The Lady Eagles maintain a 30-12 record against the Catamounts and are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings. The last Western Carolina win over Georgia Southern came four years ago in Hanner Fieldhouse on January 15th, 2007.
Western Carolina is riding a two-game win streak after defeating Davidson and the College of Charleston in their last two home games, snapping a seven-game home losing skid. The Catamounts are 5-10 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon and also have wins over UNC Asheville, Georgia State and Elon. WCU is 3-3 in road contests this season and won back-to-back road contests earlier this year.
Western Carolina is coached by Karen Middleton, who is in her second season with the Catamounts. They are led in scoring by Kaila'Shea Menendez, who averages 10.2 points a contest. Menendez has scored in double figures in four out of the last five games and notched 14 points in the win over the Cougars. Janae McKinney spearheads Western Carolina's rebounding efforts with 7.3 a contest. She also leads the team in steals with 1.5 a game.
The Lady Eagles hit the road for a pair of games in the Palmetto State following Friday's game. Georgia Southern will face the College of Charleston Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will square off with Furman next Saturday at 2 p.m. GSU returns home on January 24th to take on Wofford in a 7 p.m. contest.
The game can be heard on 102.9 FM and online at GeorgiaSouthern Eagles.com beginning 30 minutes prior to tipoff. Fans may follow Georgia Southern Women's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/ladyeagles or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.
