STATESBORO - Georgia Southern's Terren Ward stole an inbounds pass from Appalachian State and Simone James's putback with 4.6 seconds left gave the Eagles an 82-80 Sun Belt Conference overtime women's basketball victory over the Mountaineers on Thursday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The win moves the Eagles to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the Sun Belt Conference, clinching a winning season for Georgia Southern for the first time since 2009-10. App State falls to 11-10 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt with the loss.

Halftime was a tie score, 36-36, between the two teams, but after Michaela Porter hit a three on the Mountaineers' first possession of the second half, App State never trailed in the second half. But the Eagles overcame a four-point deficit with 46 seconds left in regulation as Ward hit a three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining, and after App State's Janay Sanders made 1-of-2 free throws, Ward converted a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left to tie the score at 67-all.

The overtime period saw six lead changes and four ties as each team shot 50% or better from the field in the extra frame. Porter's pair of free throws with 30 seconds left put App State up, 80-78, but Maya Banks' layup off of an assist by Ward tied the game at 80-all with 14.1 seconds remaining. With nine seconds left, the Mountaineers had an inbounds pass on the sidelines, but Faith Alston's pass was intercepted by Ward, and Ward drove down the right side for a layup try. Ward's shot missed, but James grabbed the rebound and put it back up and in on the left block for the 82-80 lead with 4.6 seconds left.

App State's Porter got a shot off in the left corner as time expired, but it missed off the rim, giving the Eagles the victory.

Ward led all scorers on the night with 32 points, while Mya Burns added 18 points for the Eagles. App State placed four players in double figures, led by Alexia Allesch's 21 points to go with 13 rebounds. Sanders finished with 15 points, while Emily Carver added 13 points and Michaela Porter finished with 12.

Eagle of the Game
Ward hit 11-of-23 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 shots from three-point range and 6-of-7 shots from the foul line en route to her career-high 32 points. She is the first Eagle player to record a 30+ scoring night at Hanner Fielddhouse since Tatum Barber vs. Coastal Carolina on February 20, 2020. She finished one rebound shy of her fifth straight double-double with nine boards, adding five assists and a pair of steals.

Stat of the Game
App State blew past the Hanner Fieldhouse record for opponent's three-point attempts in a women's game. The previous record of 34 attempts was set by Georgia Southwestern on December 8, 2020. App State put up 45 three-point attempts, making 13 for a 28.9%. The 45 attempts are tied for the fifth-most this season in a game involving two Division I schools.

Quotables • HEAR FULL POST-GAME COMMENTS FROM SIMONE JAMES AND HEAD COACH ANITA HOWARD
Simone James on the back-to-back home wins over Georgia State and App State
"We know that if we go out there and play our best, that we should come out with a victory. That's the mindset that we have."

Head Coach Anita Howard on the victory over the Mountaineers. 
"App is a really strong program. Angel does a great job, but I felt like tonight i was more proud of our team for the fight. I'm so glad they missed that shot at the buzzer. Everything we did to get it to overtime and then to win it in overtime - this is the grit, the ferocity that i want us to play with, and it's really good we could get that at home in front of the Hanner fans. This is a really good solid team win and I'm just really happy about it."

Next Up
The Eagles conclude their five-game homestand on Saturday, hosting Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. in a Sun Belt Conference matchup. It will be Senior Day for the Eagles as they will honor three seniors - Maya Banks, Rachel Johnson and Tsubasa Nisbet - in a pre-game ceremony.