PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Georgia Southern women's basketball bounced back from its first loss of the year to defeat UMES, 58-47, on Friday afternoon in the Battle on the Banks tournament hosted by Rutgers.
The Eagles moved to 5-1 on the year with the victory, while the Hawks fell to 4-4.
Georgia Southern scored the first six points of the contest, breaking perimeter pressure by the Hawks with three straight open layups. The Eagles took a 21-11 lead at the end of the first period thanks to hitting 7-of-13 shots from the floor (53.8 percent).
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter as the Eagles made just two field goals, yet were able to maintain a double-digit lead into halftime with a 29-18 advantage.
UMES would cut the lead to seven points, 40-33, late in the third quarter, but a late burst by Georgia Southern would push the lead back to double digits thanks to Jazmyne Jackson's three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter with a 47-35 lead. The Eagles then scored the first six points of the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Nakiyah Mays-Prince led all scorers on the day with 14 points, while Jackson ended the contest with 10 points to go with four steals.
Player of the Game
Mays-Prince hit 5-of-10 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 three-pointers, en route to her game-high 14 points. She added three rebounds and a steal as well in her third double-digit scoring performance of the year.
Stat of the Game
The Eagles forced a season-high 27 turnovers by the Hawks, recording 15 steals on the day. Nineteen of the 27 turnovers were forced in the first half.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the key to the up-and-down nature of the game against the Hawks
"Offensive execution. I think we saw some stretches where we did a really nice job in moving the ball, getting it in on multiple sides and taking what the defense was giving us. But we had times where we took shots that didn't make sense as far as time and score; we tried to force passes that weren't there. And we had stretches where we couldn't make a free throw. Culmination of things, but I think we put together between 20-25 minutes of solid offense where we were getting some solid ball movement but we've got to put it together for 40 minutes."
On the quick turnaround and matchup against host Rutgers on Saturday
"It's going to be a really tough matchup, a lot like you just saw on steroids as far as their effort on the offensive glass. They're big. UMES was really good on the offensive glass so we're going to have our hands full there just with their size and athleticism. It's going to be a really tough test for us."
Next Up
The Eagles take on host Rutgers at 2 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up action in the Battle on the Banks.
