Box Score

GEORGIA SOUTHERN 64, SAMFORD 61 GEORGIA SOUTHERN (4-11, 2-2 SoCon) KNIGHT, Anna Claire 5-14 5-5 16; DOWLING, Lacie 5-9 1-1 16; SPENCER, Danielle 4-7 0-0 8; DUBOSE, MiMi 2-3 2-2 8; KIRKLAND, Sierra 3-5 1-2 7; JONES, Briana 3-9 0-0 6; COOK, Jordi 1-3 0-0 3; MCGOWAN, Angel 0-3 0-0 0; MARCUS, Jessica 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 9-10 64. SAMFORD (3-12, 1-3 SoCon) NICHOLS, Hannah 5-8 2-3 16; STRICKLIN, Krista 5-10 1-2 12; CAMPBELL, Shelby 5-9 0-0 11; MCGEE, Lydia 3-7 2-2 9; FLETCHER, Keke 2-6 0-0 6; RIGGINS, Ellen 2-4 0-0 4; ROBINSON, Christy 1-9 0-0 2; STEVENS, Brittany 0-1 1-2 1; BLEVINS, Kassidy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 6-9 61. Georgia Southern.............. 27 37 - 64 Samford....................... 30 31 - 61

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Anna Claire Knight recorded the first triple-double in Georgia Southern women's basketball history with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Eagles to a 64-61 Southern Conference victory over Samford Monday night in the Pete Hanna Center.

Knight broke a 59-59 tie when she drove to the bucket, laid it in and drew a foul with 1:01 to go. The junior made the free throw to put the Eagles up three. Hannah Nichols drew a foul on the Bulldogs' trip down the floor to make it a 62-61 game with 50 seconds left.

After an Eagle timeout, Knight's jumper from the right wing rimmed out with 24 seconds left, but Sierra Kirkland was there to collect the offensive rebound. The Bulldogs were forced to foul MiMi DuBose with 16 seconds left, and the senior calmly sank both free throws to make the score 64-61. Ellen Riggins put up a frantic 3-point try as the buzzer sounded, but the ball sailed out of bounds.

It was the Eagles' first win at the Pete Hanna Center, where the Bulldogs have averaged 12 wins a season since the building opened in 2007.

"Our kids battled," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "I'm so proud of the toughness we showed when we fell behind in both halves. We found a way to grind out a conference road win against a really good team that is very difficult to guard."

Lacie Dowling scored 16 points for the Eagles (4-11, 2-2 SoCon) and hit 5-of-6 from behind the arc. DuBose, who played only 22 minutes because of foul trouble, scored eight, and Danielle Spencer tallied eight points and five rebounds.

Nichols led the Bulldogs (3-12, 1-3 SoCon) with 16 points, and Krista Stricklin tallied 12 points, seven boards and three assists off the bench. Shelby Campbell scored 11, and Lydia McGee netted nine.

The Eagles trailed by 10 points following a Stricklin free throw with 7:20 to play, but DuBose sparked a 14-4 Georgia Southern run with a triple. Knight scored seven points during the stretch, and Dowling added a four-point play as the senior was fouled while sinking a long 3-pointer. 

A Spencer layup off a Knight assist gave the Eagles a 59-56 lead with 1:30 to go, but Nichols answered with a triple from the top of the key on the other end to tie the score.

The Bulldogs came out blazing and jumped out to a 21-7 cushion 11:13 into the game as Riggins and Stricklin each scored four points. Georgia Southern responded with a 20-5 run with the aid of two Dowling triples and another trey from Jordi Cook, and took a 27-26 advantage with 1:36 left in the half.

McGee scored a layup and Campbell hit a long jumper as the buzzer sounded to give Samford a 30-27 cushion at halftime.

According to Georgia Southern school records, the closest to a triple-double prior to tonight's game was Trina Simmons with 18 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, Jan. 5, 1991, against Florida A&M.

Georgia Southern returns home for a pair of SoCon games next weekend. The Eagles will take on UNCG Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on Alumni Day in the back end of a doubleheader with the GSU men's team. Georgia Southern also plays host to Elon Monday at 7 p.m. Both games are 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 Android and iOS.