Georgia Southern University
9-17, 6-9SBC
Appalachian State
9-17, 6-9SBC
Eagles Excel From Long Range In 78-70 Senior Day Win Over App State
2/22/2020 4:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Georgia Southern shoots 50% from three-point range, sends six seniors off on a winning note Saturday at Hanner
STATESBORO - Georgia Southern knocked down 9-of-18 three-pointers to collect an important 78-70 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over visiting Appalachian State on Senior Day, Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles improved to 9-17 overall and 6-9 in the Sun Belt, putting some distance between the team and 11th-place Texas State (3-10) win the league standings. The top 10 teams make the 2020 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament and the Eagles have just three games remaining, while Texas State has five, including tonight's contest at UTA. Appalachian State fell to 9-17 overall and 6-9 in the Sun Belt, tied with the Eagles for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings at the moment.
The game started with a special moment for one of Georgia Southern's six seniors - senior guard Nakol Franks, who suffered a torn ACL a month ago, started for the Eagles. After a layup by Appalachian State, Georgia Southern inbounded the ball and passed it up the court to Franks, where she made an uncontested layup for her final points as an Eagle.
When play resumed, the Eagles and the Mountaineers played a back-and-forth game that featured 13 lead changes and nine ties. The visiting Mountaineers enjoyed a slim two-point lead at the break, 37-35, and both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter to head to the fourth with Appalachian State still up by two.
Georgia Southern opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer by senior Alexis Brown to take a one-point lead, 50-49. After a turnover by the Mountaineers, junior Tatum Barber banked in a three-pointer in transition to push the Eagle lead to four and force a time out by Appalachian State.
The Mountaineers would tie the game one final time at 57-all on a Pre Stanley bucket with 5:02 left in the game, but Georgia Southern would answer with a three-pointer 18 seconds later by freshman Jaiden Hamilton that gave the Eagles the lead for good.
Junior Tatum Barber led the Eagles offensively on the day with 18 points, while Brown added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Nikki McDonald chipped in 12 points off the bench. Appalachian State was led by Pre Stanley's game-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line.
Prior to the contest, the Eagles honored their six seniors - Amira Atwater, Brown, Hailey Dias-Allen, Franks, McDonald and Victoria Stavropoulos - in a pre-game ceremony.
Eagle of the Game
Senior Amira Atwater delivered eight assists and added nine points in helping the Eagles shoot 46% from the field as a team. Her eight assists give her 412 on her career, just seven shy of the Georgia Southern career assist record of 419.
Stat of the Game
In Appalachian State's 83-75 win over Georgia Southern in Boone on Feb. 1, the Mountaineers shot a season-best 55% from three-point range (12-22). Today, Georgia Southern shot a season-best 50% from three-point range (9-of-18) in earning the season split with App State.
Key Moment
The best of Atwater's eight assists on the day came three minutes into the fourth quarter as, in transition, Atwater dribbled into the paint and fed a no-look bounce pass to fellow senior Hailey Dias-Allen for a layup that pushed the Eagle lead to six, 56-51.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard's comments on the Senior Day win over App State
"It's breathtaking. i can exhale now. It's crazy how hard our team fought for our seniors. App State is phenomenal, their record doesn't show how they are. But I'm definitely pleased with this victory because it was hard fought."
On different players stepping up in big moments of the contest
"That's what it should look like. That's the identity of our team, strength in numbers. It makes us difficult to scout. This was one of our better wins, we didn't let up. Hats off to our bench, and of course our seniors. Now we just have to stay focused. Championships are won on the road. We're going to make a push for these last three games to compete at a high level."
Senior Amira Atwater on her assists tonight and Senior Day in general
"We kept hugging each other, for the whole game. I'm happy we were in the moment together. My teammates just kept making shots. As long as they keep making shots, I'm gonna beat that record [career assists at GS]. This is family. I've never seen anything like it. I love Georgia Southern."
Next Up
Georgia Southern finishes off the 2019-20 regular season with three straight road contests, beginning with Thursday, February 27, at Texas State in a 12:30 p.m. ET Kids Day game from San Marcos, Texas.
