Lady Eagles Open Homestand with SoCon Leader
2/3/2012 3:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Lady Eagles open a two-game homestand against the Southern Conference's top squad, Appalachian State. Tip-off against the Mountaineers is set for 5 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia Southern (7-14, 3-9) returns home to host two of the top-three conference foes in a three-day stretch. The Lady Eagles have been stuck at 199 all-time SoCon wins after dropping their final two games in January, their most successful month this season. GSU played four-straight one point decisions in the latter half of the month and won the last two contests before dropping two-straight games to the College of Charleston and Wofford.
Behind Jordi Cook's (Tunnel Hill, Ga.) 5.8 points per game in the last four contests, GSU's bench has scored 16, 18, and 25 points in the last three contests, respectively. Meredyth Frye (Fredricksburg, Va.), who missed her first game in 81-straight contests since joining the squad in the 2009-10 season, leads the team in both points (9.7) and rebounds (5.0) per game.
Appalachian State (16-3, 10-1) brings their near-perfect SoCon record to Statesboro after a 58-39 win over Western Carolina. The Mountaineers' conference record has moved them into the top-10 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. After a 55-52 loss to Davidson on January 15th, Appalachian State won five-straight games starting with a 59-58 victory over Wofford. The Mountaineers only other losses came against Georgia and Virginia.
The reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Anna Freeman, leads Appalachian State with 15.8 points per game; and the team leads the league with 66.8 a game. Kelsey Sharkey leads the Mountaineers, who pace the conference with 42.5 rebounds a game, on the boards with 7.0 rebounds per game.
In the all-time series Georgia Southern holds a 33-14 advantage with Appalachian State after a 64-45 loss in Boone, N.C., earlier this season. The Lady Eagles handed the Mountaineers both of their conference losses last season, winning 73-65 in Hanner Fieldhouse and 67-57 on the road. GSU held a four-game winning streak over Appalachian State from 2009-2011 and had won eight of the previous nine meetings before this season.
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