STATESBORO, Ga. –  The Georgia Southern women's basketball team (7-11, 3-4 SBC) trailed by two with only 20 seconds remaining on the clock when Nakol Franks nailed a three-pointer to give Georgia Southern the lead over Appalachian State (8-10, 3-4 SBC). The Eagles and Mountaineers tangled until the final seconds inside Hanner Fieldhouse, but the timely shooting by GS gave them the advantage, improving to 3-4 in Sun Belt play.

Angel McGowan recorded 19 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Georgia Southern shot 36.5% (19-52) from the field in Sun Belt women's basketball action Saturday afternoon. Patrice Butler collected 16 points and six rebounds for Georgia Southern, and the standout freshman Nakol Franks chipped in 10 points and two assists. 

Madi Story posted 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Appalachian State, and Amber Driver scored nine. Bria Carter added seven points and eight rebounds, and Bailey Plummer finished with four points and nine rebounds.


THE STORY
App State gained early momentum over the Eagles at the start of the game, coming out of the first quarter with a 9-17 lead. Nakol Franks came off the bench for the Eagles in outstanding fashion in the second quarter, sinking a three-pointer and putting the Eagles within two points of the Apps. The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the second quarter, and the Eagles headed into the half with the lead, 23-20. Neither team ended the first half with a great percentage from the field, but the Eagles 34.8% (8-23) topped the Mountaineers 26.9% (7-26).

GS opened the third quarter with an eight point streak to push their lead to 10 points. McGowan and Patrice Butler led the charge coming out of halftime, but a streak of fouls and turnovers allowed the Mountaineers to come back heading into the fourth quarter, leading 35-32. The battle continued into the fourth quarter, where the Eagles opened up with timely three-pointers from Angel McGowan and Alexis Sams,

The Eagles kept it interesting until the final minutes, a timely jumper by Angel McGowan with 52 seconds left on the clock tied the score at 48, and seconds later, freshman Nakol Franks hit a phenomenal three-pointer to give the Eagles the lead with 20 seconds remaining. The Eagles ended the game shooting 36.5% (17-56) with a 31.6% (7-23) three point percentage.


QUOTABLES
Freshman Nakol Franks
On her timely three-pointer
"I knew the double was coming and that I would be open, Patrice told me that I need to be ready to shoot and she caught it, passed it, and I was ready."

Head Coach Kip Drown
On the back and forth nature of the game
"We came out of the half in the lead and then extended our lead to ten at one point, we lost a little bit of rhythm and then they came out and hit a few three-pointers on us and put us down six, but I have to give out kids credit because we kept battling."

On Nakol's three-pointer at then end of the game
"We knew they were going to double Patrice down low, and she made a great pass out to Nakol. Nakol made a big shot, for a freshman to stand there and knock that thing down, that was big time."  

On a fifth-place tie in the Sun Belt
From being 0-3 after our first three home games and sitting in last place, it feels like we are really moving in the right direction. That's three of our last four games we've won, and we set a goal to be in the top-five of the league this year. That's the goal, it's a long way to go but you have to do it step by step and the first step is to get yourself out of the basement and start climbing the ladder."
 
NEXT UP
The Eagles will travel to Alabama next week to continue their Sun Belt stretch against Troy and South Alabama. The Eagles will play both games on ESPN3 on Thursday (1/26) at Troy at 7 p.m. and South Alabama on Saturday (1/28) at 5 p.m.
 
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