STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team (9-13, 6-7) returns home to Hanner Fieldhouse where they have won all but one of their nine games to face UNC Greensboro and Elon in a two-game homestand. The Lady Eagles are riding a seven-game home winning streak but are coming off a 62-55 loss at Samford on Monday, January 31st. Saturday's game against the Spartans will be the 6th annual Pack the House in Pink game. All fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight against Breast Cancer.
Georgia Southern will look to put the month of January behind it and start of fresh in February. The Lady Eagles will have to play nearly the rest of the way with a squad made up of eight freshmen and sophomores. Upperclassmen such as Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Logan Youngblood (Sylvester, Ga.) have stepped up after being forced into starting roles due to a recent crop of injuries.
Williams drained a career-high 17 points and pulled down one rebound shy of her career mark of eight in the loss at Samford. Williams scored more points in the first half than in her last five games combined. Youngblood provided stellar defense and started in her second game of her career. The senior guard led the team in minutes with 31.
UNC Greensboro is 10-11 and 7-6 in conference play after dropping four of its last five games. The Spartans are coming off a 67-42 loss at Furman on Monday and continue a three-game road trip in Hanner Fieldhouse. Greensboro opened the conference slate with five-straight wins and were a top of the Southern Conference standings after a 55-51 victory over Georgia Southern. UNCG has managed only two wins since then, defeating the College of Charleston 50-45 and Wofford 60-51. Both wins came on the road for UNC Greensboro, who is 5-6 overall and 4-3 away from home this year.
Monique Floyd leads the Spartans with 14.0 points per game and is second on the boards with 5.8 a contest. Floyd is also the top assist woman with 3.2 a game and helps UNCG average 11.6 assists per contest. Amanda Leigh is second on the team with 11.9 points per game and has started in every game in which she has appeared. Janae Stevens leads the squad in rebounding with 6.1 a contest and is third on the team with 7.2 points per game.
UNC Greensboro leads the all-time series with Georgia Southern 19-14. The Spartans picked up a win in the earlier meeting this year. UNCG used a double-double from Floyd to pick up the 55-51 win. The Lady Eagles rebounded from a nine-point Spartan lead late in the second half and kept the game close, trailing by only one point in second half scoring. Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) narrowly missed out on a double-double of her own and led GSU with 11 points and nine boards. Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) added eight points of her own and helped Georgia Southern post a 42-37 rebounding advantage with nine boards. The Lady Eagles scored 18 points in the paint and used their rebounding advantage to tally 14 second-chance points.
Elon has already posted its best season under fourth-year Head Coach Karen Barefoot. The Phoenix is off to a 15-7 record and are sitting in third place in the Southern Conference with a 9-4 SoCon record. Elon enters Monday's match up with Georgia Southern after a 69-65 loss to Davidson on Monday, January 31st. The Phoenix will play its third-straight road game when it travels to Statesboro.
Elon is led by Ali Ford's 16.4 points per game and Kelsey Evans' 9.4 rebounds a contest. Ford ranks fifth in the SoCon and has helped the Phoenix post the second-highest scoring offense in the conference. Evans leads the league in rebounding and averages a board a game more than her closest competitor while scoring over 12 points a game. Lei Lei Hairston is third on the team with 8.7 points per game and has started in all but one game this season.
Georgia Southern holds a narrow 10-6 lead in the all-time series with Elon. The Phoenix picked up the win in the earlier meeting between the two schools. Elon shot 46.4 percent from the floor and scored 12 fast-break points to win 77-61 at Alumni Gym on January 3rd. Kelsey Evans led the Phoenix with 20 points, while Ali Ford scored 16 and added three assists. Lei Lei Hairston helped Elon post a 43-28 rebounding advantage with a game-high 10 boards. Meredyth Frye ( Fredericksburg, Va.) led all scorers in the game with 24 points, while Navarro scored 16 for the Lady Eagles. Georgia Southern got no more than six points came from any other GSU player, but 17 points came of the 19 Phoenix turnovers.
Georgia Southern takes on Elon Monday, February 7th in the finale of the two-game homestand. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles will seven days off before hitting the road for Western Carolina on February 14th.
