Georgia Southern (7-22, 6-14) vs. Western Carolina (7-22, 5-15)
Date: March 8, 2013 - 11:30 a.m.
Site: Kimmel Arena (3,200 capacity) - Asheville, N.C.
Audio: Live on GSEagles.com and 91.9 FM
Video: Live on SoCon.tv
Web sites: GSEagles.com, CatamountSports.com
Coaches: Chris Vozab (7-22, 1st season), Karen Middleton (37-84, 4th season)
Full game notes (PDF) | SoCon Tournament Central
Layup Line
¦ Georgia Southern opens play in its 21st Southern Conference Tournament Friday against Western Carolina.
¦ The eighth-seeded Eagles and ninth-seeded Catamounts will tip off at 11:30 a.m. in Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.
¦ The winner moves on to play regular-season champion and top seed Chattanooga.
¦ It's the third consecutive season GSU and Western Carolina have met in the SoCon Tournament, and the Catamounts have won the previous two, including a 61-56 overtime decision in Asheville last year.
¦ The teams split the season series with GSU winning 52-50 in Hanner Fieldhouse Jan. 7, and the Catamounts returning the favor with a 63-52 victory in the RAC Feb. 13.
¦ The Eagles are 3-3 in their last six and coming off a 76-65 home loss to Elon Monday.
¦ GSU is 1-1 in neutral site games this season.
¦ Georgia Southern is 21-18 all-time in the SoCon Tournament but 1-6 in their last seven, dating back to a 73-59 semifinal loss to Western Carolina in 2007. The victory was a 57-56 decision over College of Charleston in the 2010 quarterfinals.
¦ The Eagles are 0-2 in SoCon Tourney games in Asheville.
¦ MiMi DuBose is leading the team in scoring at 12.6 points a game. The junior is fourth on the GSU career list in 3-pointers (136), one behind her sister Lee (2002-06). MiMi has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season.
¦ DuBose has led the Eagles in scoring in 16 contests and is now 159 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
¦ Meredyth Frye scored 17 points at Wofford Feb. 23, to go over 1,000 for her career. She has scored in double figures in her last 10 games and posted a season-high 26 in a win over UNCG March 2.
¦ Anna Claire Knight is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds a game. The sophomore has led the team in scoring six times and is 18 points away from 500 for her career.
¦ Western Carolina has lost its last five, and the Catamounts' last victory was their 63-52 home win over Georgia Southern Feb. 13.
¦ Freshman Lindsay Simpson leads Western Carolina in scoring at 7.2 points a game, and Rena Wakama is averaging 6.5 points. Diamond Hunnicutt averages 6.2 points and Shauna Terry averages 5.7 points and six rebounds.
¦ Only one Catamount plays more than 25 minutes a game as Ali Lane averages 27.5 minutes a contest.
Series History
¦ The Eagles lead the all-time series 33-17, but Western Carolina has won five of the last seven games.
¦ Six of the last eight meetings have been decided by six points or less and two have gone into overtime.
¦ The series began with a 73-65 Eagle win at Western Carolina Jan. 16, 1982. GSU won the first eight meetings.
¦ The Eagles are 1-4 against Western Carolina in the SoCon Tourney.
¦ Last meeting: Lindsay Simpson scored 19 points, and Western Carolina held Georgia Southern to 28 percent shooting in the first half to earn a 63-52 victory over Georgia Southern Feb. 13 in the Ramsey Activity Center.
¦ Meredyth Frye led Georgia Southern with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds. Danielle Spencer posted 10 points and eight rebounds, and Anna Claire Knight collected 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
¦ Simpson was 8-of-17 from the floor for Western Carolina, and Shauna Terry collected 13 points and eight boards. Diamond Hunnicutt finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
¦ The Catamounts built a 27-19 halftime lead thanks to a 12-4 over the final 7:02 of the first half. Hunnicutt led the charge with five points during the run, and the Eagles finished the half with 11 turnovers and were held to 7-of-25 from the field.
¦ The lead would grow to as many as 15 points on an Ali Lane 3-pointer with 6:13 left in the game. The Eagles would not go away and cut the margin to seven points twice inside the last two minutes. A 3-pointer by Alexis Sams and a conventional 3-point play by Frye sparked the run, but Hunnicutt hit a runner with the shot clock winding down to make the score 57-48 with 1:28 remaining.
¦ Frye hit a jumper on the Eagles' next possession, and GSU got the ball back after a turnover. The Eagles got the ball inside to Spencer, and the junior made a strong move to the basket but her layup rolled off the front of the rim with 1:08 to play. The Eagles elected to foul, and Western Carolina sealed with the win by going 6-for-8 from the charity stripe.
¦ Last meeting in SoCon Tourney: Western Carolina opened the overtime session with a 5-0 run en route to a 61-56 win over GSU in the 2012 SoCon Tourney in Asheville.
¦ A MiMi DuBose layup with 12 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 45 and sent the game into the extra period.
¦ DuBose led the Eagles with 12 points. Janay Wilson and Samantha Williams also added eight points each.
¦ Turnovers proved too costly for the Eagles as they gave the ball up 24 times.
Chattanooga Lurking
¦ Should the Eagles defeat Western Carolina, they will meet top-seeded Chattanooga Saturday at noon in Kimmel Arena.
¦ Chattanooga, the SoCon regular-season champs, swept the Eagles this season. The Lady Mocs defeated GSU 75-43 in Chattanooga Jan. 12, and topped the Eagles 67-50 in Hanner Fieldhouse Feb. 18.
¦ Chattanooga leads the all-time series, which began in 1979, 33-18.
¦ The Lady Mocs have won the last four and 21 of the last 24, dating back to 2003.
¦ GSU is 2-3 against Chattanooga in the SoCon Tourney and has lost the last three meetings.
¦ The teams have met once in the quarterfinals, a 73-50 Lady Moc victory in 2004.
Quick Hitters
¦ Four Eagles who have started multiple games this season have missed at least one contest because of an injury. Three of those players saw games played streaks of 40 or more come to an end (Danielle Spencer, Meredyth Frye, Anna Claire Knight).
¦ The Eagles have held two opponents without a 3-point field goal this season - Kent State, Nov. 24 (0-for-5), Appalachian State, Feb. 4, (0-for-7).
¦ Georgia Southern won two SoCon games on the road this season for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
¦ The Eagles' six-game road trip this season is their longest since a seven-game stretch in the 2010-11 campaign.
¦ GSU played 10 of its first 12 games on the road. The Eagles played seven of their first 10 SoCon games on the road.
¦ The Eagles have tallied double-digit steals in seven games.
¦ GSU has held five opponents under 35 percent field goal shooting.
¦ MiMi DuBose (136) is fourth in all-time 3-pointers at Georgia Southern, one away from third, held by her sister, Lee (2002-06).
¦ DuBose has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season.
¦ DuBose played all 40 minutes at George Mason (12/29) to become the first Eagle to play 40-plus minutes since Jamie Navarro played 41 against Chattanooga Dec. 18, 2010.
¦ Meredyth Frye scored her 1,000th career point at Wofford Feb. 23.
¦ Frye played in her 100th career game vs. Western Carolina Jan. 7.
¦ With 11 rebounds at College of Charleston Jan. 5, Frye surpassed 400 caroms for her career.
¦ Frye has led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding in each of the last two campaigns, becoming the first Eagle since Tiffany Brown to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back seasons (2006-08).
¦ Frye posted her third career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds at College of Charleston Jan. 5.
¦ Anna Claire Knight hit the game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded in the Eagles' 61-58 home win over Wofford Jan. 20. It's the second game-winning buzzer-beater of the sophomore's career (at Mercer, 11/17/11).
¦ Knight has two double-doubles this season - 20 pts, 11 reb at Georgia State (11/23) and 17 pts, 10 reb at Elon (1/28).
¦ Danielle Spencer collected her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds against College of Charleston Feb. 9.
¦ The Eagles opened SoCon play at Davidson Dec. 1. It's the fourth straight season GSU has opened league play on the road. The Eagles' first three league games were on the road.
¦ The Eagles' 13 steals at Georgia State were the most since posting 17 against Wofford Jan. 24, 2011.
¦ GSU's 71 points against Kent State were the most the Eagles have scored against a Division I opponent since a 72-49 win over Jacksonville State Nov. 26, 2011.
¦ The Eagles' 24-point margin of victory over the Golden Flashes was their most over a Division I opponent since topping Mercer 76-45 Dec. 11, 2009.
¦ The Eagles' 63-56 victory at UNCG Jan. 26, snapped a 10-game SoCon road losing skid. It was GSU's first road SoCon win since a 35-34 victory at College of Charleston Jan. 18, 2012.
¦ Since the 2010-11 season, Georgia Southern has five losses by one point and 12 losses by five points or less. The Eagles have suffered four losses by five points or less this season.
¦ GSU finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 1-8 record in non-conference games.
