Georgia Southern (0-0) vs. Lipscomb (0-1)
Sunday, Nov. 15 - Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325) – 2:00 p.m.
Gameday Guide | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Promotions: First 100 students get a free T-Shirt; Georgia Southern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is collecting canned goods for the Statesboro Food Bank
Audio: 91.9 FM the Buzz, GS All-Access (Colin Lacy, play-by-play)
Series: Lipscomb leads 1-0
Last meeting: 11/14/14, L, 80-74
Probable Starters for Georgia Southern:
#2 Trellanie English-Lurry, G
#5 Alexis Foulks, G/F
#14 Briana Jones, F/C
#20 Sierra Kirkland, F
#23 Alexis Sams, G

Georgia Southern Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [@GSAthletics_WBB] [Game Notes (PDF)]

Lipscomb Information:
[Roster] [Schedule]

Layup Line
• Georgia Southern officially opens the 2015-16 season and the Kip Drown era with a home contest against Lipscomb in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• The Eagles got a solid start to the season as they defeated Coastal Georgia 76-51 in an exhibition on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Lipscomb, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference have already played two exhibition games and started the regular-season on Friday, Nov. 13 with a 57-52 loss to Loyola (MD) at home.
• Georgia Southern returns 13 letterwinners from last season including seven sophomores and returns four starters from a season ago.
• Of the 13 returners, 10 played in 22 or more games last season  and eight averaged double-digit minutes per contest.
• Georgia Southern was picked 11th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll.

The Series
• Sunday's game will be just the second meeting between Georgia Southern and Lipscomb. The only other previous meeting between the two came last season when the Bison won 80-74 in Nashville, Tenn.

Last Time Out
• Patrice Butler tallied 20 points and seven rebounds, and Georgia Southern knocked down 11-of-22 from 3-point range to breeze to a 76-51 victory over Coastal Georgia in a women's basketball exhibition contest Tuesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. Butler hit 8-of-11 from the floor and made all three of her 3-point tries for the Eagles.
• Trellanie English-Lurry contributed 16 points, four assists and two steals, while Sierra Kirkland and Alexis Sams each scored eight.
• After leading by eight points at halftime, Georgia Southern drilled seven 3-pointers and outscored Coastal Georgia 30-14 in the third period. English-Lurry hit five triples and scored 14 points in the frame and Sams nailed two from downtown. An English-Lurry three-ball from the wing as time expired made the score 64-40 heading into the fourth period.
• Trailing 24-20 midway through the second period, the Eagles finished the frame with a 14-2 run to open a 34-26 cushion at halftime. Abby Hix started the spurt by hitting a step-back jumper to beat the shot clock, and Patrice Butler scored the next five before sister Sierra Butler nailed a triple from the top of the key. Georgia Southern nailed 8-of-10 from the field during the stretch.

A New Era Begins
• First-year head coach Kip Drown comes to Statesboro with an overall head coaching record of 463-327 (.586) in 27 years at the collegiate level.
• He most recently spent 10 years at Colorado State-Pueblo where he is the all-time leader in wins with a record of 195-109 (.579).
• Drown has made a name for himself taking programs that have struggled and turning them into winners. At each of his four previous stops, Drown has helped elevate the level of competition for his programs.
• In his 27-year career, Drown has led his teams to seven conference championships and has taken his team to the national tournament 13 times.

Facing the Best
• The Eagle women will start the season off with nine out of conference games including marquee games against three teams that played in post-season tournaments. Those opponents include the Mercer Bears which went 20-15 and made an appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament, Savannah State which went 21-11 with an appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I Tournament, and Stetson which went 23-8 with a trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
• Other marquee out of conference games include a trip to Athens to face the Lady Bulldogs and home contests against Robert Morris and Charleston Southern. The Eagles will also face off against Jacksonville State at home and Bethune-Cookman in DeLand, Fla. after opening the season at home against Lipscomb for the second straight year this coming Sunday.
Season Tickets
• Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available for both general admission and reserved seating. Fans can enjoy chair-back seats in the reserved sections for $90 a season ticket for either men's or women's basketball. Alternatively, general admission season tickets are $65 and are located behind the baskets on bleachers. A combo package is also available for $120 and includes both men's and women's basketball contests.

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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.