Women's Basketball | 12/3/2015 3:15:00 PM

Georgia Southern (1-3) vs. Jacksonville State (2-5)
Friday, Dec. 4 – Hanner Fieldhouse (4,358) – 7:00 p.m.
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Season Promotions | Game Day Guide
Audio: 91.9 FM the Buzz, GS All-Access (Colin Lacy, play-by-play)
Series: JSU leads 5-4
Last meeting: L, 78-52 (12/2/14)
Probable Starters for Georgia Southern:
#2 Trellanie English-Lurry, G
#5 Alexis Foulks, G/F
#20 Sierra Kirkland, F
#23 Alexis Sams, G
#35 Patrice Butler, F

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

Jacksonville State Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@JSUGamecocks]
 
GAME PROMOTIONS
• Prior to Friday's game, fans can submit their musical requests for "Flashback Friday" HERE
• Any fan who brings their ticket for this coming Saturday's home football finale against Georgia State or a season pass for football will receive a general admission ticket to the basketball game for just $5 (saves $3).
• Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to Friday night's game to donate to Toys for Tots. There will be collection bins at the game.
• Scantrons and blue books will be handed out for free to any students who request them. The test-taking materials are being provided by the University Store ahead of exam week.

LAYUP LINE
• The Eagles are coming off three-straight road games at Mercer, Georgia and Savannah State going 1-2.
• Friday's game at home against Jacksonville State begins a three-game home stand for the Eagles, the last three home games of the 2015 portion of the season for the Eagles before closing out 2015 and opening 2016 on the road.
• Georgia Southern picked up the first win of the season, and the first Division 1 win for head coach Kip Drown, on Wednesday, Dec. 2 with a 64-48 road win at Savannah State.
• Wednesday's win sets the all-time record against the Tigers at 15-5 in favor of GSU.
• In Wednesday's win, senior forward/center Briana Jones recorded three blocks, giving her 69 for her career. That number is good enough to give her sole possession of fourth all-time in program history, surpassing Marysue James (1991-96) for the honor. The next closest mark is third held by Trina Roberts (1980-84) with 79. Second is 97 career blocks held by Stephanie Christmas (1989-93).
• Sophomore guard Abby Hix eclipsed the 100 point mark for her career Wednesday night. She now has 106 career points.
• Redshirt junior Alexis Sams and senior Sierra Kirkland are the only two players who have started all four games so far this season. Nine total players have played in all four games including Sams, Kirkland, Patrice Butler, Sierra Butler, Trellanie English-Lurry, Abby Hix, Briana Jones and freshman Rhein Beamon.
 
QUICK HITTERS
• Despite missing the first game of the season due to an injury in the pre-season, junior guard Angel McGowan has come on strong in the last three games, averaging 10.3 points and 26.3 minutes per game.
• Patrice Butler has had a strong start to her season, averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, including securing the Eagles' only double-double of the season on Wednesday with 17 points and 10 boards.
• Through the first four games, Georgia Southern has averaged right at 50 points per game while their opponents have averaged 62.8. But, if you take out the Georgia game, when the Eagles struggled to contain the SEC Bulldogs and had little answer for a stifling defense, the Eagles have held opponents to 58.7 points and have averaged 56.3 points per game.
 
THE MATCHUP - JSU
• Friday's game will be the 10th meeting between the Eagles and Jacksonville State with the Gamecocks holding a slight 5-4 advantage in the series.
• JSU won the last meting 78-52 on 12/2/14 in Jacksonville, Ala. while GSU won the previous meeting 63-50 on 11/16/13 in Statesboro.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Georgia Southern women's basketball team played their most complete game of the young season Friday night and was rewarded with a 64-48 win over Savannah State University on the road. It was the first win of the season and first for head coach Kip Drown at Georgia Southern.
• The Eagles (1-3) played well for most of the night on both sides of the ball, but more so on offense. The team shot 44.9% (22-49) from the field, including 60.0% (12-20) in the second half, and made 11 three-pointers.
• The Eagles also played well on defense for much of the night, forcing the Tigers (1-4) to take shots that were not necessarily open en route to shooting just 29.0% (18-62) from the field. Part of the rough shooting night for the Tigers came from four Georgia Southern blocks, three by senior Briana Jones. Jones' three blocks moved her into sole possession of fourth all-time in program history with 69 career blocks.
• Junior Patrice Butler recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and was perfect from three-point range with four, one shy of her career-high of five in a single game. It was the first double-double for an Eagle player this season as four total players finished with double-digit points.
• Junior guard Angel McGowan, who recorded her first start of the season after coming back from an injury in the pre-season, led all scorers with 19 points off 7-11 shooting from the field. She had two three-pointers and went 3-for-5 at the charity stripe.
 
NEXT UP
GSU has a week off during exams following the game against Jacksonville State before hosting their last pair of home games for the semester when Charleston Southern and Robert Morris come to town on Monday, Dec. 14 and Thursday, Dec. 17.

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.