GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Abby Hix scored a career-high 19 points, and Georgia Southern hit 11 3-pointers to earn a 68-52 women's basketball victory over Southern University in the consolation game of the Gator Holiday Classic Monday afternoon in the O'Connell Center.

Hix earned all-tournament honors after averaging 15 points and nailing eight triples in the two games. She made 5-of-9 from long distance to lead five Eagles in double-figure scoring today. 

Anna Claire Knight recorded 12 points and six rebounds, and Angel McGowan posted 11 points and four steals. Alexis Sams chipped in 11 points and five assists, while Briana Jones registered 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. 

Cortnei Purnell led Southern (2-8) with 20 points, scoring 14 in the second half, and Jasmine Jefferson collected eight points and seven rebounds. Briana Green netted eight points.

The Eagles (3-6) held their opponent under 38 percent shooting from the field for the second straight game while connecting on 44 percent on the offensive end and hitting 11-of-25 from 3-point range.

"We shot the ball with more confidence, like we knew it was going to go in, and I thought our rhythm and flow offensively, although it wasn't bad yesterday, it was even better today," said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. "We cut hard and sharp, we were willing to make the extra pass and see people when we got doubled inside and we had great kick-outs. It was really fun basketball to watch."

The Eagles held Southern to 21 points on 30 percent shooting to build a 33-21 lead at the break, and a Hix 3-pointer early in the second frame made the margin 14. Southern scored four straight points to work the margin to 52-44 with 8:57 remaining but would get no closer. Leading 57-48, Hix and McGowan put in consecutive layups and Knight added a pair of free throws to make the margin 15 points with 3:25 to go.

Georgia Southern never trailed in the game and jumped out to a 10-3 lead with the help of triples by Sams and McGowan. Leading 25-18, the Eagles scored six straight points to push the margin to 13 points with 3:06 to play in the frame before settling for a 12-point cushion at halftime.

"I'm so proud of our defensive effort," said Vozab. "We guarded the 3-point line well, and we dug out rebounds out of scramble situations in our zone. We displayed better grit on the defensive end and better confidence on the offensive end for much of the game."

It was the final non-conference game of the season for the Eagles. Georgia Southern takes a break for the Christmas Holiday before playing the first Sun Belt Conference game in program history when the Eagles travel to UT Arlington for a Dec. 30 meeting. 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.