TROY, Ala. –  Despite trailing by as many as 22 points at one point in the third quarter, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team almost found a way to overcome the deficit by playing at an extremely high level over the final minutes of the third quarter and for much of the beginning of the fourth. The Eagle women forced the Trojans of Troy to turn the ball over several times and closed to within seven points twice in the last quarter of the game, but the Trojans ultimately wore the Eagles down and were able to snap a six-game losing skid with an 84-68 win in Trojan Arena.

Patrice Butler recorded her 13^th double-digit scoring outing for the season as she led Georgia Southern (7-15, 4-9 SBC) with 19 points off 8-for-12 (66.7%) shooting from the field. The junior center also went 3-for-5 from the free throw line and brought down six rebounds in 31 minutes of work.

Sophomore Sierra Butler finished the game with her first career double-double, scoring 13 points and corralling in a game-high 14 rebounds, 11 off the defensive glass. The younger Butler went 4-for-10 from the field, including one three-pointer, and was perfect from the charity stripe (4-for-4).

Angel McGowan entered Thursday's game needing just three points to reach the 900 point total for her career. The junior from Greenville, S.C. finished the game with six points in 30 minutes of work, giving her 903 points for her career.

Senior Briana Jones recorded a block in the first half of play, giving her 79 for her career. That total matches her with Trina Roberts for third all-time in program history for blocked shots.

For Troy (11-11, 6-7), four players finished the game in double-figures led by Arjaé Saunders' career-high 26 points. Saunders went 10-for-17 (58.8%) from the field, including a scorching 75 percent (6-for-8) from three-point range. Saunders also ended the night with a career-high of eight rebounds – four off each of the offensive and defensive glass – to go along with four assists and two steals.

Also finishing in double-digits for the Trojans were Ashley Beverly Kelley with 24, Caitlyn Ramirez with 11 and Casie Johnson with 10. Beverly Kelley was just behind Saunders with five treys, part of Troy's 12 three-pointers which sets the season-high for most three-pointers by a team against Georgia Southern. Beverly Kelley and Kristen Emerson both matched Saunders with eight rebounds to lead the team.

For the game, Southern shot 41.7% (25-of-60) from the field while Troy hit on 41.9% (31-of-74) of their attempts. The Eagles hit just three of their 20 three-point attempts (15.0%) while the Trojans hit 12 of their 34 attempts (35.3%)

THE STORY
Patrice Butler was able to give Georgia Southern its largest lead of the game early in the first quarter as she hit a layup with 5:53 remaining in the quarter to put the Eagles up 9-3. But Troy closed out the quarter out-scoring the Eagles 18-5 to take a seven-point, 21-14 lead into the second quarter.

From there, the Trojans continued to roll through the second and third quarters, building up a 22-point, 52-30 lead with 5:19 to go in the third. It was at that point that the Eagles began to put together a valiant effort at a come-back.

To start the fourth quarter, Alexis Sams swiped the ball from Saunders and streaked down the court for a fastbreak layup. The two teams seemed to trade points back-and-forth for much of the early going of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles turned up the heat on defense and forced five key turnovers early in the fourth quarter and used the shift in momentum to close the gap.

With just over five minutes left in the game, Patrice Butler was fouled on a layup and completed the old-fashioned three-point play to pull Georgia Southern to within seven points of the Trojans. But Troy found a way to put a stop to the run by the Eagles and stretched things back out over the closing minutes.

QUOTABLES FROM COACH DROWN
"I think tonight was another step in the right direction because earlier this year, we might not have been able to make that late run," said head coach Kip Drown. "We stayed with it, we battled and made some big shots down the stretch. I was very proud of the effort in that we didn't just roll over. Growth does not always show up in the wins and losses even though we would like it to, but it eventually will. Right now, it shows up in the way you deal with situations and how you execute and I felt like tonight we dealt with that deficit of 22 by coming out and just playing hard. I still can take some positives from tonight even though I'm not satisfied with a loss, but we are continuing to grow and I'm proud of that."

On Angel McGowan Reaching 900 Career Points
"She's just a great competitor and I have to tip my hat to her because she's had to make some adjustments in her game this season with a new coach and new system. We want her to score, but how she comes about those points has been a little different for her this season and she really has been trying hard to make that adjustment and do everything that we ask of her. We are just really proud of her and are excited to keep working with her."

On Briana Jones Tying Third in Career Blocks
"The big thing about Briana is that as a senior she has come off the bench for us and she has handled that magnificently. She has great character and is a great team player. I'm really proud of what a great teammate she has been and what a great player she continues to be. For her to reach this milestone is huge for her and shows how relentless she has been in whatever roll we ask of her. She is a class act both on the floor and off of it."

NEXT UP
The Eagles will next play at South Alabama in Mobile on Saturday. Saturday's game against the Jaguars will be broadcasted live on ESPN3 and is slated to tip off at 3 p.m. Eastern standard time.


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