STATESBORO, Ga. – Sierra Kirkland tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Georgia Southern held Toccoa Falls to 20 percent shooting to earn an 84-36 women's basketball victory over the Screaming Eagles Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Angel McGowan posted 10 points, four assists and three steals for Georgia Southern (2-3), while
Jakayvea Akins scored 10 points.
Alexis Sams scored nine points, and
Patrice Butler corralled nine rebounds.
Jeanelle Arnold scored nine points to lead Toccoa Falls (4-7), and Cassidy Lang scored eight. Katie Calloway had a team-high nine rebounds.
The Eagles scored the first 12 points of the game as Toccoa Falls missed its first 10 shots of the contest. Leading 18-5, Georgia Southern used a 19-4, sparked by seven points by Sams, to open a 37-9 cushion with 4:17 left in the half. The Eagles turned four Toccoa Falls turnovers into eight points to cap the stretch and led 38-15 at the break.
Kirkland scored six points in a 22-1 Georgia Southern run to start the second half. Toccoa Falls missed its first 13 shots of the frame, and the Eagles led 60-16 with 12:01 remaining after a pair of free throws by Sams.
"I thought our communication got better as the game went along, and that's something we've been stressing," said Georgia Southern coach
Chris Vozab. "When our communication got better, our defensive rotations got better. I thought we shared the ball better and made plays for each other as the game went along, and I thought we controlled the boards very well."
Georgia Southern held Toccoa Falls to 17 percent shooting in the first half and 22 percent in the second frame. The Eagles canned 25-of-30 free throws, with 20 coming in the second half, and Kirkland went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. The Eagles' 64 rebounds as a team are the second most in a game in program history.
The Eagles return to action in a non-conference match-up at Jacksonville State Tuesday, Dec. 2. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (Eastern).
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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
