STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern women's basketball notched its second win in a row, using a big fourth quarter to pull away from the College of Coastal Georgia, 68-46, on Friday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles improved to 4-5 with the win in front of a crowd of 2,278 at Hanner on the fourth annual School Field Trip Day. Students, teachers and chaperones from 10 different area schools - Langston Chapel Middle, the Transition Learning Center, Statesboro High School, Southeast Bulloch Middle, Mill Creek Elementary, William James Middle, Portal Middle, Brooklet Elementary, Langston Chapel Elementary and Southeast Bulloch Pre-K - packed the gym and watched Georgia Southern knock off the Mariners, an NAIA school out of Brunswick, Ga., for whom Friday's contest was an exhibition.
Georgia Southern led 36-21 at hafltime, but Coastal Georgia cut the lead to just five - 43-38 - at the third quarter. Sophomore Tatum Barber scored seven of the first nine points of the fourth quarter, sparking a 11-2 run as the Eagles pulled away for the victory. Alexis Brown led the Eagles offensively with 20 points, while Coastal Georgia was led by Brianna Gipson's double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Eagle of the Game
Barber finished the day with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, and also added a career-high six steals. The sophomore added three rebounds and a pair of assists on the day.
Key moment
Coastal Georgia outscored the Eagles 17-7 in the third quarter to pull within five heading into the fourth. The Mariners missed the first shot of the period, then in transition Barber canned a three pointer from the corner. Barber then picked up a steal and was fouled on another three-point attempt, making two of the three free throws, and the 11-2 run over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter pushed the GS lead to 54-40.
Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern turned up the defense in picking up the win over the Mariners, forcing 27 turnovers and outscoring Coastal Georgia 27-4 in fast break points. The Eagles also collected 11 steals and had a healthy 27-10 edge in points off of turnovers.
Quotables
From Alexis Brown on the School Field Trip Day crowd
"It means a lot, they bring a lot of energy. We really don't get many fans, so to get 2,000 kids that's a lot, and to get the win that's even better."
From head coach Kip Drown on the victory
"I didn't think we played bad in the first half, but we didn't match the intensity of the other night [at Presbyterian]. Then we came out in the third quarter, and it was like a Kennesaw State second quarter all over again, where you say 'What team is this?' But in the fourth quarter we went to our trap, and we created a lot of turnovers. We were able to get some things in thh fourth quarter that broke things open."
Next up
The Eagles will next host Winthrop for their final home game of the 2018 calendar year on Tuesday, December 18, at 5 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.
