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Georgia Southern University Athletics

WBB Weekend Preview: Eagles Travel to Face Little Rock, Arkansas State This Weekend

The Eagles will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 4 p.m. Saturday

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Women's Basketball | 2/22/2017 11:48:00 AM

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STATESBORO, Ga. –  The Georgia Southern women's basketball team (12-14, 8-7 SBC) hits the road to face off against top-ranked Little Rock (19-7, 13-1 SBC) and Arkansas State (5-21, 3-11 SBC) for two Sun Belt matchups this weekend. The Eagles will tip off inside the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock at 7 p.m. on Thursday and then travel to Jonesboro for a 4 p.m. tip off on Saturday. 
 
THURSDAY GAME SNAPSHOT
Georgia Southern vs. Little Rock
Thursday, Feb. 23   |  7:30 p.m. EST   |  Jack Stephens Center
Live Audio (GS Sports Network) | Live Stats | Live Video

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
Thursday's game will be the first time Georgia Southern and Little Rock will be meeting this season. Last season the two teams met twice in Sun Belt match ups, with Georgia Southern take the loss both times. The first game ended in a blow out of 69-36, but the Eagles put up a fight for the second game, ending with a final score of 50-45. The Trojans hold a 4-0 overall record against Georgia Southern.
 
Head coach Joe Foley is in his 14th season with the Trojans. Foley was named the 2010, 2011 and 2015 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and 2010 Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year. He also led his team to post-season appearances in eight of the last nine years, including four NCAA berths, and Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles in 2011, 2012 and 2015. Foley earned his 700th career victory in the NCAA Tournament's first round in 2015, and he signed a contract extension in April 2015 that will keep him as the Trojans' head coach through the 2023-24 season.

The Trojans enter Thursday's game 19-7 overall and have dominated the Sun Belt with a record of 13-1. Little Rock recently came off of a 12-game win streak, which ended after Texas State handed them their first conference game loss on Feb. 11.  The Trojans are averaging 61.7 points per game, while holding their opponents to 55.2 points. LRT comes into Thursday's game shooting .427 (600-1406) from the field and averaging three 3-pointers per game.  The Trojans have forced 14.5 turnovers, but have turned the ball over 17 times per game themselves.

Sharde' Collins leads the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game, and a total of 382 points on the year. Collins has shot .390 from the field, .336 from 3-point range, and averages 2.2 rebounds per game. Another team leader is Kaitlyn Pratt, who averages 14.2 points per game, and has accumulated 368 points on the year. Pratt has started in 24 of 26 games, and has averaged 6.3 rebounds per game.
 
SATURDAY GAME SNAPSHOT
Georgia Southern vs. Arkansas State
Saturday, Feb. 25   |  4:00 p.m. EST   |   Convocation Center
Live Audio (GS Sports Network) |  Live Stats  | Live Video (ESPN3) 

SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
This Saturday the Eagles will be taking on Arkansas State for the first time this season. Last seasons conference match up's between these teams both ended in favor of the Red Wolves with final scores of 77-54 and 79-52. Georgia Southern and Arkansas State have met in women's basketball history a total of five times, with the Red Wolves owning a 5-0 record over the Eagles.
 
Head coach Brian Boyer took over Arkansas State's program in 1999 and has since guided the Red Wolves to seven appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament and three SBC regular-season championships, including the outright regular season crown in 2013-14 and 2015-16. Boyer possesses the most conference wins by a coach in the Sun Belt Conference in both the men's and women's game. He is the longest tenured active basketball coach in the conference and has also coached more games than any basketball coach (men's or women's) in Arkansas State history.

The Red Wolves enter Saturday's game with an overall record of 5-21 and are 3-11 in Sun Belt play. Arkansas State currently sits in 11th place in the conference, only preceding University of Louisiana Monroe. The Red Wolves are set to face Georgia State on Thursday, Feb. 23, and will come into that match up on a four-game losing skid. The team has been averaging 59.4 points per game, but are giving up an average of 71.1 points per game themselves. From the field Arkansas State is shooting .361 (546-1513), and is making an average of 5.3 3-pointers per game.

Leading in overall points for the Red Wolves is Dominique Oliver, who has 289 points on the year, and averages 11.1 points per game. Oliver is also a team leader in assists, averaging a total of 2.9 per game. Not far behind in points is Jada Ford, who leads the team in points per game, averaging 11.9. Ford is also shooting .352 from the field (85-246).  Leading in the 3-point category is Brittany Fowler, shooting .403 (50-124). Fowler also averages 1.9 3-pointers per game, and plays 31.6 minute per game.


LAST TIME OUT (W, 71-69 vs. Texas State)
The Georgia Southern women's basketball team overcame a 14-0 deficit to start the game and then held off a furious rally late to down Texas State 71-69 Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Led by Patrice Butler and Angel McGowan, the Eagle veterans showed up on Senior Day, combining to score 35 points in the big comeback. Butler had 24 points and nine rebounds while McGowan poured in 21 points and hit three 3-pointers in the win.

GS shot a blistering 69.2 percent from the field and hit six long balls in the second half, overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit.

Toshua Leavitt led the Bobcats with 22 points, including six 3-pointers.

With the win, GS moved to 12-14 overall, 8-7 in the Sun Belt, while Texas State fell to 14-11, 9-5 in the league.
 
NEXT UP
The Eagles will play their final regular season game on the road next weekend at Georgia State. GS will then head straight to New Orleans for the Sun Belt Tournament, which will take place from March 7-12.


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.
 
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