STATESBORO - Georgia Southern overcame a 16-point first-half deficit and survived 35 turnovers to close out its 2020-21 Hanner Fieldhouse slate with a win, downing NC Central 73-65 on Sunday afternoon in Statesboro.

The Eagles (11-10) finish 2020-21 with an 8-4 mark at Hanner Fieldhouse, which is the best for Georgia Southern women's basketball since the 10-3 home mark put up during the 2010-11 season. North Carolina Central fell to 3-8 with the loss.

Georgia Southern turned the ball over 13 times and shot just 27.3 percent from the field as NC Central took a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The visiting Eagles continued to lead through the second quarter, but Georgia Southern ended the first half on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to just four, 35-31, at the break.

The run continued in the third quarter as Georgia Southern began the half on a 7-0 spurt to take its first lead of the game. But NC Central ended the third quarter on an 11-1 run of its own to take a 52-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Georgia Southern freshman Daeja Holmes hit two free throws at the five minute mark of the fourth quarter to give Georgia Southern the lead for good, 60-59, and clinched the victory with a pair of threes in the final five minutes.

Holmes finished the contest with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-6 from three-point range and 2-of-3 from the foul line. Senior Sarah Moore added a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, while sophomore Mya Burns added 12 points. NC Central was led by Anissa Rivera's 16 points, as well as 13 points from Necole Hope and 10 points from Faith Williams.

Eagle of the Game
Sarah Moore saved her best for last as the fourth-year senior set career highs in points (13), rebounds (15) and assists (5) for her first double-double as an Eagle. She hit 3-of-5 shots from the floor and added 7-of-14 shots from the foul line in 27 minutes of action. The 15 rebounds ties a season-high for a Georgia Southern player as well.

Stat of the Game
There were a combined 67 turnovers in the game between the two teams - 32 for NC Central and 35 for Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern had 26 points off of turnovers, but NC Central had 27 points off of turnovers as well.

Quotables
Head coach Anita Howard on the slow start against NC Central
"That's been our Achilles' heel, we get too comfortable when we've won the game. With the new back to back conference schedule, when we've won big on Friday, we've got to not get complacent. I thought we were focused tonight, but we didn'T come out as focused. And that's what we're trying to get them out of the habit of, being satisfied with the successes of the previous night. That will prepare us for the Sun Belt tournament, where you have to survive and advance. The win was not as pretty as I would have liked it, but for us to pull it out regardless, we got 1% better at regaining our focus and coming out with the win."

Next Up
Georgia Southern makes its final regular season road trip, traveling to Appalachian State to take on the Mountaineers on Friday, February 26, at 6 p.m. in Boone, N.C.