Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics
PREVIEW: GS Women's Basketball Heads To Texas Looking For Sun Belt Wins
2/21/2018 8:40:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Eagles will face the second- and third-place teams in the league
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern men's and women's basketball teams head to Texas for Sun Belt Conference contests against two of the top three teams in the league this week, beginning Thursday with a 12:30 p.m. ET contest at UT Arlington.
The Eagles (5-20, 2-12 SBC) take on the Mavericks (16-10, 10-5 SBC) on ESPN3 on Thursday, matching up against a UT Arlington squad it defeated, 73-68, back on January 27th in Statesboro for its first Sun Belt win of the season. Since then, UT Arlington has won five straight, and currently sits third in the league standings.
Thursday's game is Maverick Spirit Kids Day, with more than 5,500 kids, ranging from 3rd-7th grade, from school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are expected to be in attendance.
Georgia Southern lost to rival Georgia State in its last action on Saturday, dropping a 66-58 contest after erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to take a two-point lead late. Georgia State scored on seven of its last eight possessions to take the win. The Eagles were led by Alexis Brown's 12 points and Hailey Dias-Allen's 10 points and seven rebounds. Brown is now averaging 10.1 points per game in Sun Belt play this season.
UT Arlington's Rebekah VanDijk, the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, leads the Mavericks on the year, averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Her 59 percent shooting from the field is tops in the league and ranks 18th in NCAA Division I. She had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the earlier meeting between the two teams, but Georgia Southern placed five players in double figures, led by Nakol Franks' 16 points, to come away with the win.
The win was the first in the series for Georgia Southern, as UTA now has a 5-1 edge in the overall series between the two teams.
Video will be on ESPN3, with Colin Lacy providing an audio broadcast through the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats are also available.
Saturday, the Eagles travel to San Marcos to take on second-place Texas State (18-8, 11-4 SBC) at 4 p.m. ET, who features the second and third-leading scorers in the league in Toshua Leavitt (18.6 ppg) and Taeler Deer (16.8 ppg). The two teams met back on January 25th, with Texas State taking an 81-56 win. Brooke Holle had a career-high 26 points in the win for the Mavericks. Texas State leads the overall series between the two teams, 4-2.
For Georgia Southern, this will be the sixth trip to Texas in the 45-year history of the women's basketball program. The Eagles are 1-8 all-time in the state, splitting games in its first trip back in December 2000, losing at TCU 71-60, but beating UT Pan American, 77-58. Other trips included the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic (11/23-24/07, L Arkansas 77-51 and L UTSA 72-52) and the SMU Classic (11/26-27/10, L Akron 94-81 ot and L Arkansas State 49-37) as well as Sun Belt trips to Teas State (1/22/15, L 67-57 & 12/30/15, L 61-56) and UTA (1/2/16, L 70-31).
Saturday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN3, with Colin Lacy providing the audio broadcast from the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats are also available.
The Eagles (5-20, 2-12 SBC) take on the Mavericks (16-10, 10-5 SBC) on ESPN3 on Thursday, matching up against a UT Arlington squad it defeated, 73-68, back on January 27th in Statesboro for its first Sun Belt win of the season. Since then, UT Arlington has won five straight, and currently sits third in the league standings.
Thursday's game is Maverick Spirit Kids Day, with more than 5,500 kids, ranging from 3rd-7th grade, from school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are expected to be in attendance.
Georgia Southern lost to rival Georgia State in its last action on Saturday, dropping a 66-58 contest after erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to take a two-point lead late. Georgia State scored on seven of its last eight possessions to take the win. The Eagles were led by Alexis Brown's 12 points and Hailey Dias-Allen's 10 points and seven rebounds. Brown is now averaging 10.1 points per game in Sun Belt play this season.
UT Arlington's Rebekah VanDijk, the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, leads the Mavericks on the year, averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Her 59 percent shooting from the field is tops in the league and ranks 18th in NCAA Division I. She had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the earlier meeting between the two teams, but Georgia Southern placed five players in double figures, led by Nakol Franks' 16 points, to come away with the win.
The win was the first in the series for Georgia Southern, as UTA now has a 5-1 edge in the overall series between the two teams.
Video will be on ESPN3, with Colin Lacy providing an audio broadcast through the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats are also available.
Saturday, the Eagles travel to San Marcos to take on second-place Texas State (18-8, 11-4 SBC) at 4 p.m. ET, who features the second and third-leading scorers in the league in Toshua Leavitt (18.6 ppg) and Taeler Deer (16.8 ppg). The two teams met back on January 25th, with Texas State taking an 81-56 win. Brooke Holle had a career-high 26 points in the win for the Mavericks. Texas State leads the overall series between the two teams, 4-2.
For Georgia Southern, this will be the sixth trip to Texas in the 45-year history of the women's basketball program. The Eagles are 1-8 all-time in the state, splitting games in its first trip back in December 2000, losing at TCU 71-60, but beating UT Pan American, 77-58. Other trips included the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic (11/23-24/07, L Arkansas 77-51 and L UTSA 72-52) and the SMU Classic (11/26-27/10, L Akron 94-81 ot and L Arkansas State 49-37) as well as Sun Belt trips to Teas State (1/22/15, L 67-57 & 12/30/15, L 61-56) and UTA (1/2/16, L 70-31).
Saturday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN3, with Colin Lacy providing the audio broadcast from the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Live stats are also available.
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