Women's Basketball | 2/17/2016 12:59:00 PM

Georgia Southern (7-16, 4-10) vs. Arkansas State (20-3, 14-0)
Thursday, Feb. 18 – Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325) – 5:00 p.m.

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Radio: 91.9 FM the Buzz

Promotions: First Responders Night (both games)  – Firemen, police officers, and EMTs receive free general admission and their family can receive discount $5 general admission tickets; Faculty and Staff Night (both games) – Faculty and staff, with a valid GSU ID, and their families can each receive a discount $5 general admission ticket.


Series: GSU trails 4-0, L4
In Statesboro: ASU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: 1/30/16 - L, 77-54 (Jonesboro, Ark.)

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 State Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@AStateWB]



TRUE BLUE WEEK - FEB. 18-29 (Click the link for more information)
• When you are True Blue, why only celebrate once a year? So while the traditional True Blue Week that takes place before the first home football game in the fall is great, the Georgia Southern Athletics Department is taking a busy week and turning it into a celebration of Eagle Athletics. With 19 home events featuring six sports taking place over an 11-day span in late February, True Blue Week is back and loaded with great stuff.
 
HOME PROMOTIONS
• Thursday, February 18, 2016 - First Responders Night (both games)  – Firemen, police officers, and EMTs receive free general admission and their family can receive discount $5 general admission tickets; Faculty and Staff Night (both games) – Faculty and staff, with a valid GSU ID, and their families can each receive a discount $5 general admission ticket.
• Saturday, February 20, 2016 - Football Coach Tyson Summers will be doing an autograph signing session at the University bookstore at 3 pm before the women's game; Alumni Night - All women's basketball alumni are invited back for a fun weekend!; Senior Night – Join us as we honor the senior players for their hard work and determination in the classroom and on the court; Cheerleader for a Day - kids, ages 4-12, can enjoy an afternoon with the Cheerleading team and perform at halftime of the women's game
 
INSIDE THE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
• Entering this week's games, the last eight teams in the conference standings are still in heavy competition for the final five to six spots in the Sun Belt Conference tournament and it seems like anything could happen from second on down.
• The top eight spots in the standings are important because only the top eight teams in the final conference standings go to the conference tournament held in New Orleans, La. in March.
 • Having posted seven-straight wins, Little Rock has overtaken Louisiana-Lafayette for second place in the standings with a 10-4 league mark, bumping the Ragin' Cajuns to third with their 9-5 record and a three-game losing skid.
• Just behind the Ragin' Cajuns is an extremely close battle led by UT Arlington in fourth with a 7-6 Sun Belt record. But South Alabama and Troy are also coming on strong. South Alabama (8-7) is fifth after defeating Troy, bumping the Trojans (7-8) down to sixth with Texas State (6-7) sitting in seventh.
• Appalachian State is currently in eighth place in the standings with a 5-9 conference record, and the closest to the Eagles at the moment. Southern and Georgia State are tied for ninth with identical 4-10 records, but the Eagles hold the head-to-head with their Jan. 19 61-50 win over the Panthers. UL Monroe continues to bring up the rear with a 3-11 mark in league action.
 
WITHIN THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
• Georgia Southern is currently fourth in field goal percentage defense (.392) and three-point field goals made (6.1 per game). The Eagles are also fifth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.313) and defensive rebounds (24.7 per game).
• The Eagles are seventh in the league in scoring defense (61.8 points per game), free throw percentage (.677), three-point field goal percentage (.294) and blocked shots (2.7 per game).
• Juniors Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler enter this week seventh and eighth in the conference in scoring. McGowan leads the team with 14.8 points per game while Butler averages 12.4 points per outing.
• McGowan is also second in the conference in three-pointer made (2.0 per game), tied for sixth in steals (2.0 per game), 10th in the league in free throw percentage (.722) and 13th in three-point percentage (.331).
• Butler is also sixth in free throw percentage (.742), 12th in field goal percentage (.451) and defensive rebounds (3.8 per game), and is 13th in rebounding (5.7 per game).
• Sophomore Sierra Butler is 14ht in the conference in overall rebounding (5.5 per game)  but is ninth in the conference in offensive boards with 2.2 per outing.
• Junior point guard Alexis Sams is second in the league in minutes per game (36.0) and is also 14th in the Sun Belt in three-point field goals made (1.3 per game).
 
QUICK HITTERS
• In last Thursday's game at Troy, Sierra Butler corralled in a game-high 14 rebounds. It was the most rebounds secured by an Eagle player since Briana Jones brought down 14 at home against Furman on Dec. 7, 2013.
• Junior Patrice Butler is in the midst of a three-game streak where she has scored in double-figures. She has also accomplished the feat in four of the last five games including 14 on the road at Arkansas State.
• Senior Briana Jones is just two rebounds away from 400 for her career at Georgia Southern.
• Senior Sierra Kirkland's 114 games played for the Blue and White has her tied for 13th in program history for most games played. When she next takes the court for her 115th game, it will move her up into a tie for 10th with three other former Eagles.
• Kirkland's 523 career rebounds has her currently in a tie for 19th in program history for the category. The next mark for her to reach will be 17th held by Tondra Warren (1996-2000) and Tarsha Askew (1993-97) with 536 career rebounds.
• Kirkland also has 35 career blocks which has her 17th at the moment.
• Junior Angel McGowan currently has 134 steals and has broken into the top-20 in program history. The next closest marks for her to reach would be 19th held by Ashley Rivens (2005-09) with 137 and a tie for 17th held by Rosie Arnold (1995-99) and Gwenda Smith (1991-93) who both finished their careers with 138 steals.
• Junior Alexis Sams has 76 career starts and is just 10 shy of 10th all-time.
 
THE HISTORY WITH ARKANSAS STATE
• Georgia Southern and Arkansas State have now faced off four times on the hardwood in women's basketball with the Red Wolves claiming all four meetings. Only one of those four has been in Statesboro.
• Last season in Statesboro, A-State won 81-73 despite hot shooting by the Eagles in the second half. Southern went 19-30 (.633) from the field in the second half to put pressure on the Red Wolves. Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler led the Eagles in that game with 18 points each while Sierra Butler contributed 12 points. For A-State, Aundrea Gamble had a game-high 31 points including going 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Earlier this season in Jonesboro, McGowan led a trio of Eagles in double-figures with 16 points as the Eagles fell 77-54. Patrice Butler ended the game with 14 points while Trellanie English-Lurry added 11. For Arkansas State, Gamble led all scorers with 20 points off 7-of-14 shooting. Khadi Brown-Haywood was the Red Wolves' second-leading scorer with 17, part of a double-double performance as she also had 10 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
• The Red Wolves (20-3, 14-0) enter Thursday's game having clinched a berth into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and riding a 14-game winning streak. They are also receiving votes in the AP Top-25 Poll.
• Arkansas State is currently either first or second in eight different statistical categories including leading the Sun Belt in scoring margin (+14.2) and field goal percentage (.442) and the Red Wolves are second in scoring offense (73.9 points per game), free throw percentage (.741), three point field goal percentage (.343), three-point field goal percentage defense (.302) and assists (14.5 per game).
• Leading the Red Wolves is seven-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Week Aundrea Gamble. Gamble is second in the conference in scoring (18.3 points per game), assists (4.5 per game) and free throw percentage (.826) and she leads the league with an average of 36.5 minutes per outing.
• Behind Gamble, Khadi Brown-Haywood, Amanda Lawson and Jessica Flanery all are in the top-30 of the conference of scoring. Brown-Haywood averages 16.7 points per game, good enough for third in the league. She also leads the conference with 7.1 defensive rebounds per game and is 10th in the league in field goal percentage (.464) and sixth in three-point field goals made (1.9 per game).
• Flanery averages 9.0 points per game and leads the conference with 2.1 three-pointers per contest.

NEXT UP
• Following Thursday's game against the Red Wolves, the Eagles will host Little Rock on Saturday, Feb. 20. The game will serve as the Eagle women's Senior Night as well as Alumni Night. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.

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.