STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball outscored South Alabama 22-4 in the third quarter to pick up a 68-56 Sun Belt Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Eagles move to 7-8 overall and 3-5 in the Sun Belt with the win, halting a four-game losing streak. South Alabama falls to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the league with the loss. The two teams end up splitting the four-game series at 2-2.

The Eagles scored the final five points of the first quarter to take a one-point 16-15 lead after the period. Georgia Southern led by two late in the second quarter, 28-26, but South Alabama got a basket from Savannah Jones and a three-pointer from Casey Ferguson to take a three-point 31-28 lead at the break.

The third quarter opened up with a bucket by sophomore Mya Burns for the Eagles, then after a layup by Mahogany Vaught for South Alabama, Georgia Southern outscored South Alabama 20-2 over the last nine minutes of the period. The Eagles shot 50% in the period (8-of-16) while South Alabama shot just 2-of-16 (12.5%). 

Georgia Southern led 50-35 entering the fourth quarter, but South Alabama started the frame on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to four, 52-48, with 6:39 left in the game. The Eagles clamped down defensively and held the Jaguars to just eight points the rest of the way to close out the 12-point win. 

Freshmen Daeja Holmes and Simone James led a balanced scoring attack for the Eagles with 11 points apiece. Burns, senior Sarah Moore and sophomore Ja'nya Love-Hill each chipped in nine points. Savannah Jones' 17 points led the day for the Jaguars.

Eagle of the Game
Love-Hill ran the point for the Eagles and scored nine points, grabbing a career high-tying five rebounds while adding a pair of steals in a season-high 23 minutes of action. Georgia Southern was +12 with her out on the court and she hit 5-of-6 free throws as well.

Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern outrebounded South Alabama 43-25, a rebounding margin of +18 that is the best rebounding margin for the Eagles against a Sun Belt Conference opponent this season. The Eagles are 7-2 when outrebounding their opponents in 2020-21.

Quotables • LISTEN TO FULL POSTGAME COMMENTS HERE
Head Coach Anita Howard on the pivotal third quarter run
"It was tempo. We said that our best offense is our transition offense. I thought we were slowing the ball down and allowing South Alabama to be the veteran team that they are. So I told them, look, when we get the ball, we got to rebound and run. I thought we did a good job getting the ball out in transition."

On the play of Ja'nya Love-Hill
"We call her 'the brains' for a reason. She's a different type of point guard from Daeja [Holmes] and A'Tyanna [Gaulden]. She was able to come in here and control the tempo. She did what we asked her to do, which was to look to push the ball and find the hot hand. She looked to attack the defense, and she put pressure on South Alabama's transition defense by attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line or just making the layup."

Next Up
The Eagles hit the road for Sun Belt Conference action on Friday, January 29th, taking on Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. in Conway, S.C.