STATESBORO, Ga. – Angel McGowan recorded 21 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Georgia Southern shot 51 percent and never trailed as the Eagles sailed by Coastal Carolina, 78-70, in Sun Belt women's basketball action Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Patrice Butler collected 20 points and nine rebounds for Georgia Southern (6-11, 2-4), and Nakol Franks chipped in 15 points and three assists. Alexis Foulks scored nine.
Ced Gibson posted 17 points and five assists to lead Coastal Carolina (7-9, 2-4), and Kennedy Archer scored 19. Rachael Gregory added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jas Adams finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
THE STORY
GS led 39-30 at halftime and opened the third quarter with an 11-3 spurt to push the margin to 50-35. McGowan scored the first five points of the run and netted 13 in the second half of the contest. The Chanticleers whittled the lead down to seven points early in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles answered the bell as Butler hit a jumper in the paint out of a timeout. Four points by Foulks helped GS push the lead back to double digits.
The Eagles used a 12-5 run, keyed by a couple of Franks 3-pointers, to open a 24-13 cushion in the first quarter. Coastal Carolina cut the deficit to five on a Gregory jumper with 3:16 left in the second frame, but Foulks answered with back-to-back jumpers as GS pushed the advantage to 39-30 at the break.
QUOTABLES
Senior Guard Angel McGowan
On late-game situations
"That was our mindset because we're going to be in situations like that game after game, so we want to take care of the ball and make good decisions."
Head coach Kip Drown
On the good starts
"It's something we've emphasized so you hope that's taking hold a little bit, but we have come ready to play. That's been really encouraging. And that was a big emphasis after halftime to come out of there and not let them get back in it. We're starting to string more minutes together. Our kids held their composure, and I was really proud of how we came down the stretch with it."
On handling late game situations
"I thought our shot selection was good, and I thought we attacked and made some basketball plays. We did the things good basketball teams do. I was really proud of the maturation we showed and the composure we showed coming down the stretch."
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern plays host to Appalachian State Saturday. Promotions: Blue Out Game - Wear your best True Blue colors, Men's Basketball Alumni Day - All men's basketball alumni are invited back for a fun weekend, Teddy Bear Toss - Fans are encouraged to bring new or slightly-used medium-sized teddy bears to throw on the court and win a prize during halftime of the game. The teddy bears will be donated to the Safe Haven organization. 1,000 Free foam fingers for fans, courtesy of Coca-Cola, will also be distributed.
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
