Lady Eagles Earn Program Win #600 with a 69-64 Overtime Victory
1/15/2011 2:42:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team (8-10, 5-4) earned its 600th all-time victory with a 69-64 overtime win over Western Carolina (5-11, 3-4) Friday night. The Lady Eagles picked up their sixth-straight home victory and have won seven out of the last nine games.
"This is an accolade," said Lady Eagle Head Coach Rusty Cram. "You tip your hat to Georgia Southern, just to think we can get 600, that is a huge milestone for us. My hat's off to them, my hat is off to all the ladies that have played here in the past that contributed to those 600 wins, there have been some great ones, as well as those ladies tonight. My hat's off to Georgia Southern and I think it is a great achievement for Georgia Southern University."
Georgia Southern did what it does best draining 29 of 36 free throws, including three in the final 20 seconds of overtime. The Lady Eagles shot 80.6 percent from the line and 40.5 percent overall. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) led the Lady Eagles at the charity stripe with 13 made free throws and tallied 18 points. MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson) led all scorers with 20 points, while Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) scored in double figures with 12 points. DuBose or Navarro have led GSU in scoring in 11 games this season.
"We felt like going in, the two teams were so balanced, they had a couple of strengths, we had a couple of strengths, where we were strong, they were weak, where they were weak, we were strong," Cram said. They kept us from getting into some things, some sets that we wanted to get into offensively. They had a great game plan, ours, fortunately, was to get to the free throw line, especially the second half, and we were able to do that."
Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga./St. Pius X) helped Georgia Southern outrebound Western Carolina 35-31 and led the team with seven boards.
"That was one of our strengths. We knew they were going to rebound the basketball, especially the offensive glass. They are quick, they can get up and down the court, and they do a lot of things well. They were well-coached," said Cram.
Four players scored in double digits for the Catamounts. They were led by Kaila'Shea Menendez's 15 points. Kendra Carroll added 12 more, while Emily Clarke and Caitlin Hollifield posted 11 points each. Clarke scored all 11 of her points in the first half and finished the game with four field goals in 15 attempts.
Georgia Southern led 31-30 at the break in a tightly contested first half which included five ties and four lead changes. DuBose drained three treys and scored all 12 of her points in the first 11 minutes. She led all scorers in the first period. Clarke came off the bench and scored 11 points for Western Carolina to help keep the Catamounts in the contest.
The Lady Eagles reeled off an 11-5 run late in the first half to give them their largest lead of the period. Georgia Southern broke open a 20-20 tie and led 31-25 with 2:08 to play in the first half. The Catamounts scored the final two baskets of the period and pulled to within one point as time expired.
Georgia Southern expanded on a one-point lead and pulled ahead by 9, 48-39, with 9:23 to play. The Lady Eagles used a 13-5 run to earn their largest lead of the game. GSU scored eight of their 13 points on free throws. Frye led the way with six points during the run with a perfect six-for-six shooting from the charity stripe.
The Catamounts rallied late to cut the lead to one point, 55-54, with under a minute to play. Western Carolina was sparked by a 9-1 run over the final four minutes and tied the game at 56-56 with 15 seconds remaining. Carroll hit the game-tying shot after Clarke missed a three-pointer.
Georgia Southern quickly jumped up by four points in the overtime period and held on for a five-point win. Western Carolina cut the lead to only a basket on a jumper by Hollifield with 22 seconds remaining. Navarro and Frye hit three free throws in the final 15 seconds to help secure the 600th win in Georgia Southern Women's Basketball history.
The Lady Eagles return to action Tuesday in Charleston, S.C. against the College of Charleston. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Carolina First Arena.
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. Scores from Charleston will be available on twitter.com/GSScores.
