Lady Eagles Fall to Furman Despite Halftime Lead
1/22/2011 9:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Georgia Southern (8-12, 5-6) recorded their first road conference halftime lead, but fell 58-50 to Furman (8-10, 4-5) Saturday afternoon. The Paladins remained perfect at home and snapped the Lady Eagles' six-game win streak in the series.
Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) led all scorers with 17 points, while Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) added 11 points. Frye scored in double figures for the third-straight game, while Navarro tallied her 13th double-figure game of the season.
Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) eclipsed her career high for rebounds in back-to-back games and pulled down 15 boards to go along with her six points.
Georgia Southern led 27-21 at halftime behind Frye's 10 points. The intermission lead was the first for the Lady Eagles in a conference road game this season. Frye went to the line six times and made all six shots to go along with two field goals in the first half. Tate had eight boards in the first half to go along with three points.
The first period was tightly contested with five lead changes and two ties. The Lady Eagles opened up an eight-point lead late in the first half. Navarro drained a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining to give GSU an eight-point lead, 25-17. Furman had led by as many as three points early and took its last lead before halftime with 4:27 remaining. Kendra Berry led the Paladins with eight points and seven rebounds.
Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored the first basket of the second half, giving Georgia Southern a 29-21 lead. Furman responded with a 17-5 run and tied the game at 34-34 with 12:09 to play. The Paladins remained within a basket for most of the second half before taking a 43-42 lead with 5:27 to play. Brooke Keeton drained a layup to extend the Paladins' lead to five points, 47-42, with three minutes left in the game.
Frye cut the lead to four, 48-44, after grabbing her own miss with 1:59 on the clock. Both teams exchanged field goals with Logan Youngblood's (Sylvester, Ga.) layup cutting the lead to 50-46 with 74 seconds left.
Georgia Southern returns home Monday for a 7 p.m. contest with Wofford. A country theme will take over Hanner Fieldhouse as fans are encouraged to wear country, cowboy, and cowgirl-themed clothing for the game. Country music will be played during the game and a country-themed halftime contest will highlight the in-game promotions.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Women's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/ladyeagles or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics orfacebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.
