STATESBORO, Ga. – Anna Claire Knight tallied 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Georgia Southern held Jacksonville to 34 percent shooting to open its home schedule with a 78-65 women's basketball victory over the Dolphins Tuesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Knight was one of four Eagles in double figures as Georgia Southern had assists on 18 of its 26 field goals and shot 41 percent for the contest. Angel McGowan scored 17, and Briana Jones netted 15. Alexis Sams scored 12, and Jessica Marcus collected eight points and eight rebounds.

Sherranda Reddick tallied 24 points and four steals for Jacksonville (0-2), and Briona Brown collected 12 points and five rebounds. Brandi Ruie scored 10 points. 

Reddick's two free throws tied the score 56-56 with 6:47 to play, but Marcus sparked an 8-0 Eagle run with a layup, while Sams and McGowan added triples.

Jacksonville worked the margin down to five points twice, but the Eagles answered each time. After Ruie put in a layup for the Dolphins, Sams hit Jones with a long pass for a layup to break Jacksonville's full-court pressure defense, and McGowan hit a layup to make the margin 70-61 with 1:54 remaining. 

"I'm really proud of the grit our kids showed," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "Jacksonville kept coming at us, making run after run, and there were instances where we lost our poise a little bit but we were able to regroup and stick to what we do."

Sams and Knight combined to go 8-for-8 from the free-throw line to seal the win. The Eagles went 19-for-22 from the charity stripe as a team.

Georgia Southern (1-1) held Jacksonville to 24-for-71 from the field in the contest and 2-for-14 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Eagles shot 44 percent in the first half to build a 36-29 cushion at the break.

"We made some big defensive stops, especially down the stretch," said Vozab. "Holding a team to 34 percent field goal percentage – that's just a tremendous defensive effort. Our veterans did a great job, and our young kids were tremendous, especially in the second half. It may not be things that show up on a stat sheet, but they were solid, took care of business and did a lot of the little things we talk about every day."

The Eagles are back in action at home Saturday when they play host to Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. It's a doubleheader with the Georgia Southern men's team, which will take on Johnson University.

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