JONESBORO, Ark. - Arkansas State scored the final eight points of the contest to claim a 69-62 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over visiting Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

The Red Wolves improved to 6-9 overall and 3-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Georgia Southern falls to 5-10 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt play. 

The Eagles used a solid second quarter to build a 39-35 halftime advantage, but Arkansas State started the third quarter on an 11-0 run to take control of the contest. Georgia Southern fought back to within one at the end of the third quarter, 48-47, and led by one point, 62-61, with 1:21 left in the contest.

At that point Arkansas State went 6-for-6 from the foul line and got a layup from Peyton Martin, while the Eagles went 0-for-5 from the floor during the final 81 seconds.

Tatum Barber led the Eagles with 20 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double against the Red Wolves in Jonesboro. Jaiden Hamilton chipped in 10 points while Tsubasa Nisbet had a career-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points.

Eagle of the Game
Barber hit 8-of-15 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three-point range and 2-of-3 from the foul line en route to her 20 points. The double-double was the third of her Eagle career.

Key Moment
With Arkansas State's 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter staking the Red Wolves to a 46-39 lead, Georgia Southern ramped up the defense, keeping A-State scoreless for the next four and a half minutes as the Eagles closed the gap back to one, 46-45, on a Tatum Barber steal and layup.

Stats of the Game
After a first half that saw the Eagles (7) and the Red Wolves (5) combine to make 12 three-pointers, neither team hit a three in the second half.

Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the game against the Red Wolves
"We got comfortable, relaxed way too much [at halftime]. We allowed them to go out on a run, it was 7-0 before I could get a sub in. But we were pretty confident with what we did in the second quarter. But we turned it over 22 times. As pleased as I am with rebounding [+24 rebounding margin] we still didn't do what we needed to do with balancing possessions."

Tatum Barber on her double-double and the Eagles' play against the Arkansas State zone
"The key was getting second-chance opportunities, that's where that came from tonight. [The zone] was a little different than what we were used to playing against. I think we adapted to iit very well. At the end of the game, we struggled a little bit on offense and defense."

Next Up
Georgia Southern returns home to Hanner Fieldhouse to take on first-place Troy on Thursday, January 16, at 6:30 p.m. in Statesboro.