BOONE, N.C. – Three Eagle women finished with double-digit points Monday night, leading the Georgia Southern women's basketball team to a critical 65-50 win over Appalachian State two nights after the two programs were originally scheduled to play. The game between the Eagles (6-11, 3-5 SBC) and Mountaineers (5-12, 2-6 SBC) was postponed from Saturday to Monday after winter storm Jonas blew through the Southeast.

The 15-point win is the third conference win of the season for Georgia Southern and moved the Eagles up into a three-way tie for sixth in the Sun Belt Conference standings with Georgia State and South Alabama. The Eagles have already defeated both programs once this season. It is also the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Eagle women have won back-to-back road games and is the second winning streak of the season for head coach Kip Drown's squad.

Junior Angel McGowan, who eclipsed the 800-point mark for the season last Tuesday against Georgia State, led all scorers with 20 points, including four three-pointers. It is sixth 20-point performance of the season for the Greenville, S.C. native and the 11^th of her career. McGowan shot 50.0% (8-16) from the field and added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes of work.

Fellow junior Patrice Butler ended the game with a double-double, her second of the season and fourth of her Georgia Southern career. Butler scored 17 points and corralled in 10 boards in 29 minutes of work while shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field and a perfect 100.0% (4-4) from the free throw line.

Rounding out the double-digit scoring for Georgia Southern was junior guard Alexis Sams who netted 10 points, including a 5-for-6 performance at the charity stripe in 35 minutes of work.

Overall, the Eagles shot a season-best 45.8% (22-48) from the field, including 42.1% (8-19) from three-point range. Georgia Southern out-rebounded the Mountaineers 40-32, holding App State to 12 offensive boards, four below the Mountaineers' season average of 16.0.

App State was led by Madi Story's 16 points. All 16 points for Story came in the first half of play as she ended the night 5-for-14 (.357) from the field. Joi Jones complimented Story's 16 with 11 of her own to go along with eight rebounds.

THE STORY
Georgia Southern trailed by as many as six points (15-9) in the first quarter, but McGowan hit four three-pointers in-a-row in the span of less than a minute to give the Eagles a three-point, 21-18 lead with 1:32 left in the opening quarter. The Eagles closed the stanza on a 16-3 run to claim a seven-point, 25-18 lead heading into the second quarter.

From that point on, the Eagles never trailed and continued to build upon their lead, ending the first half with an 11-point, 36-25 advantage.

Over the final three quarters, App State struggled to convert baskets, shooting 11.8% (2-17) in the second quarter, 26.7% (4-15) in the third and 33.3% (5-15) in the final stanza. That allowed the Eagles to build up the lead to as many as 22, 65-43, with 2:31 left in the game when Sams hit three free throws in the span of 10 seconds.

QUOTABLES FROM COACH DROWN
"This win feels very good, but we are still trying to get better one game at a time," said head coach Kip Drown. "To get back-to-back road wins on this trip was a real boost for our team. I was very proud of our team. I thought we came out right from the beginning and battled hard and Angel really got us going with the three-pointers there early. From there, I felt like we executed well down the stretch and just had good energy throughout the game. It's nice to get that third conference win but there is still a lot of basketball left to be played. It was good to show that we are going to keep pressuring teams and are going to keep competing each and every night."

On holding App State in check in transition
"I thought, overall, we did a great job of getting players back and it always helps when you you're your shots," Drown said. "We gave up 12 offensive rebounds to them, but they came into the game averaging 16. We out-rebounded them overall, so I thought we did a great job on the glass against them and that was a big key for us coming in."

On Alexis Sams continuing to step up and give solid minutes
"I have used the word 'glue' for her several times this year because she really does hold our team together," said Drown. "It's the little things she does that helps us and she is one of the unsung heroes in this conference. She's well-respected and a hard worker. She does a phenomenal job doing the things we ask of her and is a great shooter and all-around player. We're trying to get her more looks, but it's more about the intangibles that she brings to the game that means so much to us."

NEXT UP
The Eagles will have little time to rest as they have to travel to turn around and travel to Arkansas for a pair of games later this week. Georgia Southern will first travel to Little Rock where they will take on Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 6:15 p.m. Eastern standard time. Following that, the Eagles will travel to Arkansas State for a game on Saturday, Jan. 30 to close out the month of January and a four-game road swing.


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