Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – Brittany Hodges and Holli Wilkins each scored 18 points, and Furman overcame a 12-point early second-half deficit to post a 67-62 Southern Conference women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Anna Claire Knight led Georgia Southern (2-7, 0-1) with 19 points, and MiMi DuBose scored 17. Briana Jones collected her third double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Lacie Dowling netted 10 points.

Hodges was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line for the Paladins (5-4, 1-0), while Brigid Morrissey recorded 15 points and six rebounds. Sarah Durdaller finished with a team-high 12 boards.

The Eagles led 48-36 following a conventional 3-point play by Knight 5:16 into the second half. Furman chipped away over time and took its first lead of the stanza on a Morrissey triple from the top of the key with 7:03 to go.

Georgia Southern tied the score at 55-55 on its next possession, but Hodges scored four points in a 6-0 Furman run. The Eagles cut the lead to 64-62 with a DuBose layup with 3:10 to play, and got three defensive stops but could not score the equalizer.

Morrissey hit 1-of-2  from the free-throw line with 28 seconds left to make the score 65-62, and the Eagles had two chances inside on their next possession but could not get heavily-contested shots to go down. Wilkins grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws to seal the win.

"It was an intense game filled with momentum swings," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "Throughout the first 35 minutes, I thought we did a good job of scoring out of transition or through our half-court offense, but in the final five minutes, we had too many possessions where we either turned it over or took a rushed shot. We have to learn to be calm and composed in the final minutes of a tight game so we can continue to execute the way we need to."

Knight scored six points in a 10-0 Eagle run that opened a 28-17 cushion for Georgia Southern with 6:26 left in the first half. After a layup by Jones made the score 31-23, Furman finished the frame with a 7-2 spurt and trailed 33-30 at the break.

Wilkins cut the lead to one point with a jumper early in the second half, but DuBose scored seven points as the Eagles outscored the Paladins 13-2 over the next 3:08 to push the margin to 12 with 14:44 to go.

Both teams shot just under 37 percent for the game, and Georgia Southern held a 48-41 advantage on the boards. The Paladins committed a season-low seven turnovers while the Eagles had 15.

The Eagles will have eight days off for exams before their next contest. They return to action by playing host to SoCon opponent Wofford Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app for A
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