Women's Basketball | 1/18/2017 12:34:00 PM

2016-17 GS WBB Quick Facts (PDF)
2016-17 GS WBB Media Guide (PDF)
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STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern women's basketball team (5-11, 1-4 SBC) hosts the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7-8, 2-3 SBC) for a Sun Belt matchup at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. The Eagles return home to Hanner Fieldhouse after a two-game road swing through Louisiana last weekend, going 1-1 against UL Monroe and Louisiana. 

GAME SNAPSHOT
Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern
Thursday, Jan. 19   |  7:00 p.m. EST   |   Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Live Video (ESPN3) | Live Stats   |   Live Audio (GS Sports Network)   |  

PROMOTIONS
Throwback Thursday
Fans are encouraged to visit gseagles.com/throwback and submit their favorite oldies songs to be played at the game Thursday night.

National Popcorn Day
Regular popcorns are half-off at the concession stand.

Thirsty Thursday
Free Coke products for students with valid Student ID.

SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS (Twitter - @CoastalWBB)
GS and Coastal Carolina have only met on the hardwood in women's basketball four times in program history, with Georgia Southern owning a 3-1 record against the Chanticleers.  Coastal Carolina's inaugural year in the Sun Belt this year will mark the first time the two teams have faced off in 18 years.  The last time the Eagles and Chanticleers faced off was in 1999.

Jaida Williams is in her fourth season at the helm of the Chanticleer's program after previously coaching at Wake Forest, Iowa, South Florida, and UC Santa Barbara. Williams' and the Chants made the transition to the Sun Belt this year after previously competing in the Big South. During the 2015-16 season the Chants finished with a 12-18 overall record and 7-13 mark in the Big South, leaving them in ninth place of the Big South at the conclusion of the season.

This year, Coastal Carolina has started the campaign 7-8 overall, 2-3 in the Sun Belt with conference wins over Appalachian State and Arkansas State. The Chanticleers are averaging 65.1 points per game while holding their opponents to 63.8 points. As a team, Coastal Carolina enters Thursday's game shooting 38.7% (356-921) from the field and are averaging 2.5 three-pointers per contest. The Chants have forced 17.3 turnovers per game, but have also turned the ball over 20.3 times per game themselves.

Coastal Carolina is led in scoring by Rachael Gregory's 14.5 points per game, despite the guard missing four games earlier this season. Behind her, Ced Gibson's 179 points leads the Chants in overall scoring, and her 13.8 points per game puts her isecond behind Gregory. Gibson also leads the team with 50 assists and 38 steals on the year. Senior forward Alexis Robinson leads Coastal Carolina from down low, averaging 9.1 rebounds per game with a total of 128 so far this season.

2016-17 Coastal Carolina Roster
2016-17 Coastal Carolina Schedule
2016-17 Coastal Carolina Statistics

LAST TIME OUT (L, 79-52 at Louisiana)
Jaylyn Gordon tallied 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Louisiana canned 14 3-pointers, one shy of the school record, in a 79-52 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon in the Cajundome.
 
Angel McGowan scored 19 points, including 13 straight in the second half, and collected five rebounds and three steals for Georgia Southern (5-11, 1-4). Patrice Butler chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds.
 
Gordon was 9 of 19 from the floor and nailed seven triples for Louisiana (10-4, 4-1), and Simone Fields recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass. Troi Swain finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists and hit four from downtown. Nekia Jones nailed three from long distance and posted 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

RECORD CLIMBING
- Senior Alexis Sams moved into sole possession for fifth place all-time in games started last Saturday against Louisana (94) passing Sharon Mitchell (1996-01), and set her sights on Rosie Arnold (1995-99) who sits in fourth place with 97. Sams eclipsed the 500 career point mark with six points against UCF (12/17). She has now scored 528 career points during her collegiate career. She is also in the top-10 another career category, ranking 10th in three-point field goals made (118).
- Senior Patrice Butler scored her 1,000th career point against South Alabama (1/5). She has scored 933 points while in Statesboro and has 1,064 collegiate points between her time at Furman (131) and Georgia Southern (933).
- Senior Angel McGowan is currently in the top-20 in program history of four career categories, including the top-10 of two. With her 14 points against Louisiana last Saturday, McGowan moved into 13th all-time for points scored (1,201) passing Janice Johnson (1991-95) and sets her sights on Tarsha Askew (1993-97) who is 12th overall with 1,228 points. Angel is also tied for 7th in steals (170), fourth in three-point field goals attempted (463), and 5th in three-point field goals made (132), just five shy of Lee Dubose's (2002-06) who had a total of 137.
- Junior Sierra Butler is currently in a tie for 17th in school history with 35 blocks. Butler is tied with Sierra Kirkland (2012-16) and sits behind Shawnda Attwood (2012-16) who recorded 41 during her time as an Eagle.

YEAR TWO FOR DROWN AND COMPANY
When Kip Drown took over the reins of the Georgia Southern women's basketball program over a year ago, he knew the rebuild would be a process that required him, his staff and the players to be patient. After the first year, the Eagles are looking to take the next step in building a successful program and they will have plenty of experience to draw from both on the coaching side as well as on the court.

Despite being chosen 10^th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches' Poll, the team isn't looking to just roll over. The Eagles return plenty of talent and are a year older with more experience overall while also adding key pieces at every position. Last season, the Eagles had plenty of depth at certain positions, but were inexperienced at others. With at least three players at every position this year, and some players cross-trained at multiple positions, GS is prepared to take the next step.

MCGOWAN AND BUTLER EARN PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT HONORS
Georgia Southern women's basketball student-athletes Angel McGowan and Patrice Butler earned Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors as voted on by the league's coaches prior to the season. McGowan, a senior guard from Greenville, S.C., earned first team honors and Butler, a senior forward/center from Norcross, Ga., was named to the third team.

NEXT UP
Georgia Southern will face off against Appalachian State at for a Blue Out game at home on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles and the Mountaineers are slated to tip off at 2 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 5 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear their best True Blue colors to cheer on the Eagles.  


The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.

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. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.