Women's Basketball | 1/27/2016 8:00:00 PM

Georgia Southern (6-11, 3-5 SBC) at Arkansas-Little Rock (6-11, 4-4 SBC)
Thursday, Jan. 28 – Little Rock, Ark., Jack Stephens Center (5,600) – 6:15 p.m. Eastern standard time
 
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Radio: 91.9 FM the Buzz

Series: UALR leads, 2-0 (L2)
In Little Rock, AR: UALR leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: 2/14/15 – L, 60-43 (Little Rock, AR)
Probable Starters for Georgia Southern (Based on previous games):
#2 Trellanie English-Lurry, G
#11 Angel McGowan, G
#23 Alexis Sams, G
#25 Sierra Butler, F
#35 Patrice Butler, C

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

Arkansas-Little Rock Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@LittleRockWBB]
 
INSIDE THE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
• Entering the weekend, Georgia Southern is currently in a tie with Georgia State for seventh place in the conference standings after South Alabama moved into sole possession of sixth place with a 75-71 win over Troy on Tuesday night.
• The Eagles' spot in the standings is important because only the top eight teams in the final conference standings go to the conference tournament held in New Orleans, La. in March.
• Below the Eagles and Panthers in the standings are UT Arlington (2-5), UL Monroe (2-6) and App State (2-6).
• South Alabama (4-5) sits half a game ahead of the Eagles in sixth while Arkansas-Little Rock (4-4) sits a full game ahead in fifth. Troy (5-4) and Texas State (4-3) are both a game and-a-half ahead of the Eagles sitting in fourth and third respectively.
 
WITHIN THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
• As a team, Georgia Southern is in the top-six in eight different statistical categories.
• The Eagle women enter the weekend third in the conference in free throw percentage (.707), field goal percentage defense (.382), three-point field goal percentage defense (.300) and three-point field goals made (6.4 per game).
• GS is also fourth in the Sun Belt in defensive rebounds with 25.1 per contest.
• Southern is sixth in the league in scoring defense (60.4 points per game allowed), rebounding defense (37.8 rebounds per game allowed) and defensive rebound percentage (.664).
• Individually, five different Eagles are currently in the top-20 in 12 different categories.
• Junior guard Angel McGowan is currently sixth in the league in scoring with 15.1 points per outing and is also fifth in three-point field goals made (2.1 per game), sixth in steals (2.1 per game), seventh in free throw percentage (.765), eighth in three-point field goal percentage  (.359) and 14th in the conference in field goal percentage (.440).
• Junior forward/center Patrice Butler is 13th in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring with 12.2 points per game. She is also second in free throw percentage (.833), and 13th in rebounding (5.7 per game) as well as defensive rebounds (3.8 per game).
• Junior Alexis Sams is second in the conference in minutes played (36.2 per game). She is also tied for 11th in assists (2.5 per outing), tied for 13th in three-pointers made (1.4 per game), and she is also 15th in three-point field goal percentage (.324).
• Sophomore forward Sierra Butler is currently 18th in the league with 4.9 rebounds per game and is tied for 13th in the conference with 2.0 offensive rebounds per outing.
• Senior Briana Jones is 11th in the Sun Belt in blocked shots as she is currently averaging 0.8 on the season. She has 13 total.
 
QUICK HITTERS
• Monday's 65-50 win at Appalachian State marked the first time since the 2013-14 season that Georgia Southern won back-to-back road games. In that season, Chris Vozab's Eagles defeated Western Carolina 63-56 on Jan. 25, 2014 and then turned around and defeated App State 68-59 on Jan. 27.
• In the 15-point win over the Mountaineers, the Eagles scored the most points in a first quarter this season, netting 25 points and surpassing the previous mark by four. The previous game-high of the season was set on Dec. 17, 2015 against Robert Morris when the Eagles scored 21 points in the first quarter.
• Senior Sierra Kirkland corralled in three rebounds on Monday, surpassing the 500 rebound total for her career. Kirkland now has 502 career caroms which has her just seven away from Beverly Wilson (1981-85) in 19th all-time in program history. For her career, Kirkland averages 4.6 per contest.
• Senior Briana Jones recorded another blocked shot in Monday's contest, bringing her season total to 13 and her career total to 77. She currently sits in fourth all-time in program history but is just two blocks shy of Trina Roberts (1980-84) in third with 79.
• Juniors Alexis Sams and Angel McGowan are both close to moving into the top-10 in program history for career three-pointers made. Sams has 91 career treys, leaving her just 17 shy of Samantha Williams (2008-12) in 10th with 108 while McGowan is 24 back, but she averages just over 2.0 three-pointers per game this season. Sams averages 1.4.
• McGowan is also just 10 steals away from breaking into the top-20 in program history. Her 124 career swipes has her within striking distance of matching Andrea Autrey (1991-95) who had 134 steals during her career.
 
THE HISTORY WITH UA-LITTLE ROCK
• This will be just the third meeting between Arkansas-Little Rock and Georgia Southern. Last season's pair of meetings were the first time the two programs had ever faced off on the hardwood in women's basketball.
• Little Rock holds a slight 2-0 advantage over the Eagles with the Trojans winning 58-44 in Statesboro on Jan. 31 and 60-43 in Little Rock on Feb. 14.
 
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• The Trojans (6-11, 4-4 SBC) come into Thursday's game having won three of their last five games, ending a two game skid with a 59-55 win at UT Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 23.
• Little Rock is 3-5 overall at home this season but that record goes up to 2-1 in conference play at home including wins over Appalachian State and UL Monroe.
• The Trojans come into the week averaging 56.9 points per game, ninth-best in the league. They are also seventh-best in the league in points against as they allow 60.5 points per game.
• UALR is allowing the opposition to convert 43.2% of their shots (ninth-best in the league) while hitting on 40.3% of their own looks from the field (fourth-best).
• Little Rock is the second-best team in the league in rebounding defense, allowing opponents to corral in 33.6 boards per game.
• Leading the way for UALR in scoring is Shanity James with 14.1 points per contest, good enough for eighth-best in the Sun Belt. She shoots an impressive 51.5% from the field which is fifth-best in the conference.
• James also leads the team and is ninth in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game and has nine blocks on the season.
• Behind James, Alexius Dawn contributes 10.9 points per game, tied for 17th-best in the SBC. She shoots 32.5% from the field and leads the team with 27 three-pointers so far this season.
• Sharde' Collins and Kaitlyn Pratt each average close to 9.0 points per game, 8.8 for Collins and 8.6 for Pratt. Collins is the team's best three-point shooter as she has converted 39.2% (20-51) of her attempts from long range while Pratt is second on the team in rebounding with 6.3 caroms per outing.
 
NEXT UP
• Georgia Southern returns home for a pair of games to open the month of February. The Eagles will first welcome UT Arlington to Statesboro on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 5:00 p.m. game before Texas State comes to town on Saturday, Feb. 6 for a 4:30 p.m. contest. The game with the Bobcats will serve as the Eagles' annual Pink Game.

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