HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Georgia Southern Women's Basketball was unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit, playing Stephen F. Austin even for most of the second half before falling 49-40 at the Reed Green Coliseum on Friday. Senior Janay Wilson (Warner Robins, Ga.) scored 13 points and junior Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) tallied 12 to lead the Lady Eagles (1-4).

The Lady Jacks (4-0) took advantage of 15 first-half Lady Eagle turnovers and used a balance scoring attack to take a 26-18 halftime lead. Four different players hit three-pointers for Stephen F. Austin and eight different players scored in the first half for the Lady Jacks. Georgia Southern held a 17-15 edge in rebounding, but struggled to find their shooting range, hitting just 30% of their shots in the first 20 minutes.

"The first three or four possessions we turned the ball over and had to play from behind the rest of the way," said Head Coach Rusty Cram. "Turnovers were the difference in the ball game. We talked at halftime about doing a better job of protecting the ball, but we just didn't execute."

Stephen F. Austin began the second half on a 5-0 run, including a three-ball by Courtney Conwright to stretch the lead to 31-18 with 17:53 remaining. Both teams then traded baskets, before Frye scored five-straight points for the Lady Eagles to cut the deficit back to eight with 13:08 to go.

The Lady Jacks stretched the lead to eleven points, before a 9-4 run by the Lady Eagles made it 40-34 with 3:20 remaining. That was as close as Georgia Southern would get, as Stephen F. Austin sank 7 of 10 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Georgia Southern will play in the consolation game Saturday morning at 12 p.m. EST and will face the loser of the first-round matchup between Southern Mississippi and Jacksonville State. Tomorrow's 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, beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff.