A Season For The Record Books: GS Women's Basketball Enjoys Remarkable 2022-23 Campaign
4/7/2023 10:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Anita Howard's team notches most successful season in decades
STATESBORO - The first 20-win season in 20 years, the first national postseason berth in nearly 30 years and another re-writing of the record book all served to make the 2022-23 season of Georgia Southern women's basketball one of the best in program history.
We saw signs of what could happen during last year's giant leap forward as the Eagles won 18 games, including their first Sun Belt tournament victory. But Head Coach Anita Howard's next step with the Eagle program proved to be one for the ages.
Georgia Southern finished the 2022-23 season with a 21-10 overall record, the first 20-win season since the 2002-03 and only the 11th 20-win season in the 49-year history of Eagle women's basketball. The 21 wins are the most in a single season since 2000-01 and the Eagles have now improved their win total in four straight seasons, the only time that has happened in the history of the program.
Among those 21 wins were several notable results, including the regular season series sweep of Sun Belt champion James Madison - a 69-65 win over the Dukes in Harrisonburg on January 19, then a 72-61 win in Hanner on February 4. Those wins were key in helping the Eagles record a 12-6 Sun Belt record, the best record for the Eagles since joining the league in 2014, and a fourth-place finish that was also the best in Sun Belt history and the best conference finish for the Eagles overall since 2004-05.
Georgia Southern's appearance in the 13th Women's Basketball Invitational kicked off with the first national postseason victory in program history with the Eagles' 69-58 win over Northern Illinois on March 17 in Lexington, Ky. It's the fourth overall national postseason appearance in 49 years for Eagle women's basketball and the first since 1994.
The Eagles were consistent all year long, going 10-4 at Hanner but also going 10-3 on the road, tying the school record for the most road wins in a season. Georgia Southern started the year 8-1, which was the second-best start in school history, behind only the 11-1 start by the 1979-80 squad.
Other notable single-game marks this season included setting a new school record for steals (32) and tying the school record for assist (35) in the Eagles' 126-35 win over Agnes Scott on November 30. Georgia Southern set a new mark for points in a Sun Belt game by downing Arkansas State, 99-86, on December 31. And a crowd of 2,612 elementary and middle school kids packed Hanner Fieldhouse for the Eagles' annual Kids Day Field Trip Game, watching Georgia Southern defeat Chicago State, 93-71. It's the second-largest single-game crowd to watch an Eagle women's basketball game in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The on-court success is also reflected in how the Eagles ranked among the Sun Belt and NCAA Division I statistics. Georgia Southern ranked in the Top 25 in the nation eight separate statistical categories, and were ranked in the Top 3 in the Sun Belt in 13 separate categories.
A new category added by the NCAA this season reflected the Eagles' tremendous depth as Georgia Southern averaged 31.2 bench points per game, ranking second in the nation behind only South Carolina (36.1). Georgia Southern also ranked third nationally in rebounding (46.35 rpg), marking a third straight season in which the Eagles have ranked in the Top 5 in rebounds.
Georgia Southern led the Sun Belt Conference in bench points per game, assists per game (15.1 apg), defensive rebounds per game (30.4) and ranked second in the league in field goal percentage (.426), free throws attempted per game (22.52), offensive rebounds per game (15.9), total rebounds per game, scoring margin (+8.4) and scoring offense (79.0).
Finally, the Georgia Southern single season record book will see plenty of new entries this offseason as the Eagles cracked the statistical Top 10 list 13 separate categories. The 2,450 points scored by the Eagles over 31 games are the second-most in school history, while the 209 three-pointers made are also the second-most. The 79.0 points per game scoring average, the 634 three-pointers attempted and the 2080 field goals attempted are all the third-most in a single season as well.
