Women's Basketball | 2/19/2016 11:21:00 AM

Georgia Southern (7-17, 4-11) vs. Little Rock (13-11, 11-4)
Saturday, Feb. 20 – Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325) – 4:30 p.m.

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Radio: 91.9 FM the Buzz

Promotions: 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



Series: GSU trails 3-0, L3
In Statesboro: LR leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: 1/28/16 - L, 69-36 (Little Rock, 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)]

Little Rock Information:
[Roster] [Schedule] [Season Stats] [@LittleRockWBB]



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
• 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 spots in the Sun Belt Conference tournament as the top three teams in the conference standings have all clinched berths into the league tournament.
• 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 eight-straight wins, Little Rock has overtaken Louisiana-Lafayette for second place in the standings with an 11-4 league mark, bumping the Ragin' Cajuns to third with their 10-5 record following a win over UT Arlington Thursday night.
• Just behind the Ragin' Cajuns is an extremely close battle led by South Alabama with a 9-7 conference record. The Jaguars defeated App State Thursday night to move into fourth while Texas State downed UL Monroe to move into fifth along with UT Arlington which lost to Lafayette. Both have 7-7 SBC records.
• Troy (7-8) did not play Thursday night but are now seventh while App State (5-10) remained eighth ahead of Georgia State (4-11) and Georgia Southern (4-11). UL Monroe remains 11th in the standings with a 3-12 conference mark.

WITHIN THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
• Georgia Southern is currently fifth in field goal percentage defense (.396) and fourth in three-point field goals made (6.2 per game). The Eagles are also sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.314) and fifth in defensive rebounds (24.5 per game).
• The Eagles are seventh in the league in scoring defense (62.5 points per game), three-point field goal percentage (.297) and blocked shots (2.6 per game) and are eighth in free throw percentage (.672)
• Juniors Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler are currently sixth and eighth in the conference in scoring. McGowan leads the team with 14.9 points per game while Butler averages 12.5 points per outing.
• McGowan is also second in the conference in three-pointers made (2.1 per game), sixth in steals (2.0 per game), eighth in the league in free throw percentage (.723) and 13th in three-point percentage (.338).
• Butler is 12th in field goal percentage (.455) and rebounding (5.7 per game) and is also 13th in defensive rebounds (3.8 per game).
• Sophomore Sierra Butler is 14th in the conference in overall rebounding (5.4 per game) and is tied for 13th in the conference in offensive boards with 2.1 per outing.
• Junior point guard Alexis Sams remains second in the league in minutes per game (36.0) and is also 15th in the Sun Belt in three-point field goals made (1.4 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 four-game streak where she has scored in double-figures. She has also accomplished the feat in five of the last six games including 14 on the road at Arkansas State a few weeks ago.
• In Thursday's game against Arkansas State, Senior Briana Jones brought down two rebounds and now has 400 for her career at Georgia Southern.
• Senior Sierra Kirkland's 115 games played for the Blue and White has her tied for 10th in program history for most games played. When she next takes the court for her 116th game, it will move her up into a tie for eighth with two other former Eagles.
• Kirkland's 528 career rebounds has her currently 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 135 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 77 career starts and is just 9 shy of 10th all-time.
 
THE HISTORY WITH LITTLE ROCK
• Saturday's meeting between Georgia Southern and Little Rock will be just the third meeting between the two programs in women's basketball. Little Rock has claimed all three previous meetings.
• Last season, the Trojans claimed a 58-44 win over the Eagles in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles were led in that game by Anna Claire Knight's 13 points and Angel McGowan's 12. McGowan also added four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 34 minutes of work as a sophomore. Briana Jones had a career night as she finished the game with five blocked shots. Taylor Gault led the Trojans with 20 points ahead of Shanity James' double-double including 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Earlier this season, Little Rock downed Southern 69-36 in Little Rock. The Eagles were led by McGowan's 14 points off 5-for-9 shooting while the Trojans were led by James' 16 points, Alexius Dawn's 11 and Keanna Keys' 10 points. The Trojans shot 52.8% (28-53) from the field while the Eagles hit on 38.2% (13-34) of their attempts from the field.
 
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• The Trojans (13-11, 11-4) have been climbing in the Sun Belt Conference standings the last few weeks having won their last eight games, including a 54-39 win over Georgia State in Atlanta on Thursday.
• Despite the upward trend, Little Rock is still eighth in the conference in scoring (58.9 points per game) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.290) but have relied heavily on defense as they have held opponents to just 55.3 points per outing - second-best in the league. The Trojans are also second in the conference in rebounding margin (+3.3) and are fourth in both turnover margin (+2.0) and assists (12.3 per game).
• Little Rock is led in scoring by Shanity James who is averaging a conference seventh-best 14.8 points per outing. James is also third in the league in field goal percentage (.535) and sixth in rebounding (7.2 per game) and she is tied for 12th in the SBC with 0.7 blocked shots per contest.
• Second on the team in scoring is Alexius Dawn with 10.3 points per game, good enough for 21st in the conference. She is also sixth in the conference in assists (3.2 per game), 11th in three-point field goals made (1.5 per game) and 11th in steals (1.8 per contest).
Behind James and Dawn, Sharde' Collins is 24th in the league in scoring with 9.3 points per game and Kaitlyn Pratt is right on her heels in 25th with 9.2 points per outing.
• Pratt is 10th in the conference in rebounding (6.5 per game) while Collins is sixth in the SBC with a .373 three-point field goal percentage.
 
NEXT UP
• After opening a four-game homestand against Arkansas State and Little Rock, the Eagles have two final home games this season. Georgia Southern's home women's basketball contest against Georgia State on Monday, Feb. 22 will air live on ESPN3 and tip off at 7 p.m. The contest is a standalone game as the Eagle men will be taking on the Panthers the following day, Tuesday, Feb. 23, on ESPN2.
• One point will be on the line in the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series, and the Eagles trail 6-3. Georgia Southern picked up a point by winning the first game against the Panthers this season 61-50 Jan. 19 in Atlanta. It will be the 41st meeting between the in-state rivals, and the Eagles have won the last two over Georgia State but the two are tied 2-2 in the last four meetings dating back to the 2012-13 season.


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