Lady Eagles Shoot for Program Record at Western Carolina
2/14/2011 3:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team (11-13, 8-7) shoots for a program record at Western Carolina Monday at 7 p.m. The Lady Eagles stand just five treys short of the record of 165 for a season and looks to top the mark set in 2006-07 when Tiffany Brown connected on 54 of the team's 165 three pointers. GSU has made 160 threes this season with Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) leading the way with 51 made three pointers.
Meredyth Frye (Fredricksburg, Va.) will take the court for the first time since being named Southern Conference Player of the Week for all games played February 1-7 after scoring the final points against UNC Greensboro and Elon. She drained the game-winning basket on a buzzer beater against UNC Greensboro on February 5th and the sophomore guard scored 16 points in the 71-69 overtime win over Elon.
Georgia Southern is coming off a 71-69 overtime win against Elon on Monday, February 7th. The Lady Eagles extended their home win streak to nine games despite trailing by as many as four points in overtime. Four players scored in double figures for Georgia Southern in the victory, but it was a last-minute three from Navarro that sent the Lady Eagles to overtime. A pair of free throws from Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) with 25 seconds left in the extra period put GSU on top for good.
Frye led Georgia Southern with 16 points and went 6-8 from the free throw line. Williams added 14 points and a game-high five assists in 34 minutes, while Ro-Ro Smith (Blackshear, Ga.) scored a career-high 13 points. Navarro added 13 points and five rebounds, but fouled out early in overtime.
Since Georgia Southern and Western Carolina last met on January 14th, the Catamounts have gone 1-7 in league play. Their one win came in 75-66 decision over Furman two days after they played the Lady Eagles. Western Carolina is coming off a 64-60 loss to Wofford on February 8th. The Catamounts will face Furman in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday before returning home to play host to Georgia Southern.
Kail'She Menendez is the player averaging double figures for Western Carolina and is scoring 11.3 a game. Menendez has scored the bulk of her points at the free throw line and is 91-122 at the charity stripe. Caitlin Hollifield is second on the team in scoring and rebounding and averages 9.6 points and 6.4 boards a game. Janae' McKinney leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 6.6 a game and is one of three players to start every game. Emily Clarke is the team's top three-point shooter and has made 41 treys this season.
Georgia Southern won the earlier game this season 69-64 in overtime and has won five-straight contests against the Catamounts. The Lady Eagles got 20 points from MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.), and 18 from Frye to grab the victory back on January 14th. Frye made 13 of the Eagles 29 free throws and missed only one in the contest. Navarro added 12 points and five assists while going 7-8 from the charity stripe. Georgia Southern won the first meeting between the two schools back on December 16, 1988, in a close 73-72 decision.
Georgia Southern returns home Wednesday to face Charleston in the conclusion of the season series with the Cougars. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Monday's game can be heard on 102.9 FM and online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff. Ryan Chambers of the Georgia Southern Radio Network will have the call from the Ramsey Center.
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.
