STATESBORO, Ga. – Shanity James scored a game-high 22 points, and Little Rock held Georgia Southern without a field goal for over eight minutes in the fourth quarter as the Trojans defeated the Eagles, 50-45, in Sun Belt Conference women's basketball action Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Little Rock led by two late in the game and ran a play for James out of a timeout. The senior was fouled with 48.7 seconds left and knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game.

Alexis Sams' 3-point try rimmed out on the Eagles' trip down the floor, and Georgia Southern was forced to foul. Kaitlyn Pratt made two from the charity stripe as the Trojans went 5 of 6 from the foul line the rest of the way to seal the win.

Patrice Butler Scored 12 points to lead Georgia Southern (7-18, 4-12), and Sams tallied nine points and a career-high four steals. Senior Briana Jones started the game on Senior Day and blocked a shot to move into sole possession of third place at Georgia Southern with 80 career blocks.

James was 7 of 13 from the floor and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line while tallying seven rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals for Little Rock (14-11, 12-4). Kaitlyn Pratt collected 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. 

The story
Trailing 18-9 in the second quarter, Georgia Southern finished the period on a 12-0 run and opened a 21-18 lead at intermission. Angel McGowan scored four points during the stretch, and Sams capped it with a 3-pointer. The Eagles maintained the advantage throughout the third until Alexius Dawn knocked down the Trojans' only 3-pointer of the game with 56 seconds remaining in the frame to give Little Rock a 36-35 lead.

The rest of the game saw four lead changes and two ties. The Eagles trailed 43-41 and had the ball but turned it over. James missed a 3-pointer on Little Rock's possession, but Sierra Butler missed a jumper for Georgia Southern with 1:17 to go. Little Rock called timeout with under a minute to go to set up the play for James, who was fouled attempting a turnaround jumper in the post.

The teams combined for 42 turnovers in the defensive-minded contest. The Trojans outscored the Eagles 19-9 at the free-throw line and collected 10 second-chance points off of seven offensive rebounds.

Quotables
Georgia Southern Coach Kip Drown 
"After the first quarter, we decided that we needed to change tempo. We felt that they really had control of the tempo at that point in time. To be honest with you, it was the kind of thing we wanted to try out, only thinking we were going to get one or two possessions, but we ended up playing almost the rest of the night because we took them off their flow. I thought our kids sold out to it tonight, and it changed the momentum of the game when we changed defenses up."  

"I played this defense for probably 25 plus years, and you never really know how people are going to attack it. We've had nights where we've played it twice and they beat us on it, and we've gotten out. And then there's been nights like tonight where you play against somebody really good and for whatever reason, it throws them out of sync. It's one of those things that you kind of have to make adjustments as you go through the game."

Patrice Butler 
"In the first half the energy was great. We didn't skip a beat, so I was really happy. I felt like once I finally got in I couldn't mess up – I wanted to get on the board like everyone else."

Next Up
The Eagles continue their four-game homestand by playing host to Georgia State Monday at 7 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. One point is on the line in the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Other promotions: Whiteout – Wear white to the game! - Free white out t-shirts will be handed out to students (while supplies last); Free pizza for students while supplies last; Fans will be able to enjoy music from DJ Nino and as always, the loud and proud Hoop Troop; More for Your Money Monday - all fans can take advantage of $2 general admission tickets.

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.