PREVIEW: GS Women's Basketball Looks To Build Sun Belt Momentum In Arkansas
1/31/2018 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles take on conference-leading Little Rock on Thursday and Arkansas State on Saturday
STATESBORO, Ga. - Fresh off of its first Sun Belt Conference win, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team travels to Arkansas for a pair of conference clashes this week, beginning Thursday evening at conference-leading Little Rock.
The Eagles (4-16, 1-8 SBC) will take on the Trojans (12-8, 9-0 SBC) at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, looking to spring the upset against a squad that has the longest winning streak this year among Sun Belt squads. Little Rock has won nine in a row since beginning Sun Belt play, and is holding opponents to just 44.6 points per game in that stretch.
Georgia Southern is coming off of its best performance of the season in Saturday's 73-68 win over UT Arlington. Not only did the Eagles shoot well from the field - 51.9 percent, its best shooting against a Sun Belt opponent in nearly two years - but Georgia Southern out-rebounded the Mavericks by four boards, something it had done only one other time this season. Five Eagles scored in double figures, led by Nakol Franks' 16 points, and Amira Atwater etched her name into the record books with a program-best 13 assists in the contest.
The two teams have already met once this season, with Little Rock claiming a 64-34 win in Statesboro on January 6th. This is the first time in 2017-18 that the Eagles are seeing a league squad for a second time this year.
Little Rock will have live video of the contest on Thursday, while Colin Lacy will have the audio call courtesy of the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats will also be available of the contest.
Saturday, Georgia Southern will travel across the state to take on Arkansas State (10-10, 5-4 SBC), facing the Red Wolves at 4 p.m. Eastern time.
Arkansas State alternated wins and losses all the way up to its trip to Georgia in early January, where the Red Wolves knocked off both Georgia Southern (71-62) and Georgia State, but since then, the team is back to alternating wins and losses. The Red Wolves picked up a 70-63 win over Coastal Carolina last Thursday, but lost at Appalachian State, 68-66, on Saturday.
Akasha Westbrook leads the Red Wolves offensively, averaging 14.0 points per game, but also leads the Sun Belt in steals with 47 (2.7 spg). Westbrook had a double-double in the January 4th meeting between the two teams, notching 13 points and 10 rebounds. For the Eagles, Nakol Franks had a season-high 21 points in the matchup, while Alexis Brown went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Saturday's game will be an ESPN3 broadcast, with Colin Lacy again providing the audio call on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats will also be available of the game against the Red Wolves.
