STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball finished off its non-conference schedule with an 88-59 victory over visiting Bethune-Cookman on Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Eagles improved to 9-3 on the season with the win, which is the best non-conference record and the best start for the Eagles since Georgia Southern began 9-3 en route to an 11-4 non-conference mark in 1990-91. Bethune-Cookman fell to 2-8 on the season with the loss.

Georgia Southern jumped out to a 23-14 lead after the first period, and pushed that lead to 18 points, 42-24, at the break. The Eagles held the Wildcats to just 12 points in the third quarter to put the finishing touches on the victory, just the second over Bethune-Cookman in seven tries. 

The Eagles shot 50% from the floor (40-of-80), the fourth game out of the last five in which Georgia Southern has shot 50% or better. Four Eagles reached double figures on the day, led by Mya Burns' 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Taya Gibson added 13 points, while Rachel Johnson notched 11 and Maya Banks collected a season-high 10 points. Bethune-Cookman was led by Kayla Clark's 18 points and game-high 17 rebounds.

Eagle of the Game
Johnson notched her first double-double as an Eagle with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while also adding a season-high five assists while committing just one turnover. She had a team-best +25 plus/minus and was a huge part of the Eagles enjoying a 27-12 edge in fast break points.

Stat of the Game
The Eagles forced 28 turnovers by the Wildcats, and enjoyed a 31-8 edge in points off of turnovers. 

Quotables • LISTEN TO FULL POST-GAME COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH ANITA HOWARD
Head Coach Anita Howard on the win over the Wildcats
"It was a rollercoaster again, but I'm glad fo the win. We saw a lot of good things, but we got a little sloppy at the end. Still that consistency piece that we talk about. I am glad we finished strong with 29 points in the fourth quarter."

On the success of the transition offense (31 points off of turnovers)
"We want our defense to be easy offense. We're playing our better basketball when we can get up and down in transition, when we get easy twos and share the basketball. That's when we tend to have more fun."

Next Up
The Eagles break for Christmas before returning to Hanner to open up Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday, December 30, hosting Arkansas State at 2 p.m.