Lady Eagles Fall at Alabama
11/22/2011 4:33:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Alabama sprinted out to an early lead behind a suffocating pressure defense and 50% shooting in the first half. The Crimson Tide scored 32 points off of 25 Lady Eagle turnovers and Second Team All-SEC guard Ericka Russell scored 15 points to lead all scorers.
"The girls worked hard yesterday and today in practice," said Head Coach Rusty Cram. "We just didn't execute tonight. We let the pressure get to us and we couldn't get into our offense."
Sophomore Aishya Wofford (Augusta, Ga.) led Georgia Southern in scoring with 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles in her first career start.
Russell hit a 3-pointer less than one minute in to the game to give Alabama an early 7-0 lead. Wofford's jumper in the paint made it 7-4, but Russell responded for the Crimson Tide with two more treys to make it 13-4 with 15:05 to go in the first half.
Alabama led by as much as 14, before MiMi Dubose (Jefferson, Ga.) hit a 3-point basket to make it 24-13 with 7:30 to go in the period. The Crimson Tide then reeled off 18 straight points to stretch their lead to 42-13. Georgia Southern would go on a 5-2 run heading into halftime, but trailed 44-18 at the break.
In the second half, the Lady Eagles struggled to find their shooting touch. Alabama stretched the lead to 50-18, before Anna Claire Knight (Dublin, Ga.) hit a 3-pointer with 13:55 to go in the game. Georgia Southern would go on a 7-2 run, but an 11-3 Alabama run put the Crimson Tide up 64-28 with 5:34 remaining. Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) knocked down her second trey of the game to make it 64-34, but that would be the final bucket on the night for the Lady Eagles.
Georgia Southern continues its five-game road trip when they travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for a Friday matchup with Stephen F. Austin at the Lady Eagles Thanksgiving Classic. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. EST. The game can be heard live locally on 103.7 The Boomer or online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision. Justin Baker will have the play-by-play story, beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
