STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball topped the century mark on Sunday afternoon in defeating Life University, 103-65, at Hanner Fieldhouse to move to 4-1 on the season.
The Eagles have now scored 100+ points five times in the Anita Howard era, and Georgia Southern starts the year 4-1 for a second straight season.
Life hit a pair of threes in the game's first four minutes en route to taking an 11-5 lead on the host squad, but Georgia Southern responded with a 16-2 run over the next three minutes to take control of the contest. The Eagles led the Running Eagles by five at the end of the first period, 26-21, but outscored Life by a 29-9 margin in the second quarter for the unassailable 55-30 halftime advantage.
Paris Miller hit two of three free throws with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles over the century mark. Georgia Southern placed five players in double figures, led by Diamond Stokes and Terren Ward each tallying 15 points. Miller finished with 14, while Le'Andrea Gillis added 11 and Taya Gibson chipped in 10. Life was led by Eva Singleton's 12 points.
Eagle of the Game
Stokes collected her first double-double as an Eagle with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 from the free throw line, while adding 12 rebounds - seven offensive - and also tallying a blocked shot, an assist and a steal.
Stats of the Game
Each team shot well from beyond the arc. Georgia Southern hit 11-of-22 shots from long range for exactly 50 percent, while Life hit 9-of-21 threes for 42.9%. The Eagles scored 47 points off of 32 turnovers forced, the second time the Eagles have created 30+ turnovers this season (Charleston Southern, Nov. 13).
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the play of the bench (65 of 105 points scored)
"I think there's strength in our numbers. Our starters are our starters, but we know our second group could start. The second group gave us the energy and defensive intensity that we needed today. And we have fun when everyone contributes. We didn't want to look at the scoreboard, we just wanted our team to play for a full 40 minutes."
Next Up
Georgia Southern continues its non-conference slate on Wednesday, November 30, hosting Agnes Scott at 4 p.m. in Hanner. It will be a doubleheader with the men's team, who face Florida Gulf Coast at 7:30 p.m. for the Hanner Double Feature.
