Foul Trouble Hurts Lady Eagles at Davidson
2/20/2011 2:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team (11-16, 8-10) pulled within eight points of Davidson (12-15, 7-11), but a 6-8 free throw performance iced the 60-46 win at Belk Arena. Davidson's win gives it the 20-19 series lead and splits the season's series as both teams won on their respective courts.
"Davidson made the most of its opportunity at the line," said Lady Eagles Head Coach Rusty Cram. "We couldn't get to the line and when we did, we couldn't put it in the hole. It's humbling, but we just have to keep our head up and keep pushing. "
Davidson's Laura Murray led both teams in scoring with 23 points and teammate Sophia Aleksandravicius was the game's leading rebounder with 16. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.), led the Eagles in points, tallying 12, while Danielle Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
The advantage for Davidson came from the charity stripe where the Wildcats converted 23 of 27 attempts, more than doubling the Eagles' 12 total trips to the free-throw line. Davidson also finished strong on the boards, outrebounding Georgia Southern 40-28. The Lady Eagles got a 23-point contribution from the bench.
Georgia Southern started out the game down 12-7 but quickly cut the deficit. A field-goal by Aishya Wofford (Augusta, Ga.) and a jumper from Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.), who returned to the court after a five-game absence due to injury, pulled within one. Jamie Navarro's (Naples, Fla.) three-pointer on the next GS possession gave the Lady Eagles a 12-11 lead with 10:06 left in the first half.
Both teams would swap the lead over the next six minutes until a jumper from Davidson's Ashley Lax knotted the game at 21 all, at the 3:53 mark. The Wildcats would go into the locker room up by four points, 25-21.
Frye scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half, including the first four field goals to pull the Lady Eagles within seven points, 36-29, at the 13-minute mark. Turnovers and missed opportunities would help extend Davidson's lead to 14, its biggest lead of the afternoon, late in the second half. A Georgia Southern 13-7 run would reduce the margin to eight points, but Wildcat free throws would extend the lead back to double-digits and secure a Davidson victory.
The Wildcats shot 57.1-percent (4-7) from behind the arc in the second-half compared to 33.3-percent (2-6) for Georgia Southern. The Lady Eagles shot 41.7-percent from the field, above the team's 35.8-percent for the game. Davidson shot 36.4-percent on the floor which mirrored the team's percentage for the contest.
Freshman Jordi Cook (Tunnel Hill, Ga.) saw notable playing time and made the most of her minutes. Cook made three of the Lady Eagles four-total treys in the game, ending the contest with nine points, one point shy of tying her career high.
Georgia Southern closes out its road season on Monday when the Lady Eagles travel to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
"The major thing is fundamentals, we have to work on fundamentals and find some confidence somewhere offensively with the basketball," stated Cram when asked about preparation for the Mountaineers. "We have to find a post game and get a little better chemistry on the offensive side of the ball."
The game at the Holmes Center will be carried live on the 102.9 FM in Statesboro and online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff. Justin Baker will fill in for Ryan Chambers on the Georgia Southern Radio Network for play-by-play.
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.
