PHOENIX, Ariz. - Georgia Southern women's basketball overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to rally back and defeat Wright State, 88-82, on Thursday afternoon at the GCU Christmas Classic in Phoenix.
The Eagles improved to 7-4 on the season with the victory, while the Raiders fell to 2-10. The deficit was the largest overcome by Georgia Southern women's basketball in the Sun Belt era. Four times previously Georgia Southern has overcome a 16-point deficit, the latest coming in 2022 at South Alabama.
Wright State entered the contest shooting just 32.6% from three-point range, averaging just over eight threes a game. However, Wright State knocked down 9-of-12 threes in the first half to build a 57-39 advantage at the break.
In the third quarter, the Eagles hit 11-of-17 shots from the floor in putting up 27 points in the frame, cutting Wright State's lead to six, 72-66. A pair of Nicole Gwynn free throws with 5:45 left completed the comeback as the Eagles took a 75-74 lead.
Wright State answered with a three-pointer from Ellie Magestro-Kennedy to take a two-point lead with 5:28 remaining, but Indya Green's jumper tied the game at 77-all heading into a media time out.
Green and Leah Johnson made layups to push the lead to two possessions, 81-77, with 2:48 remaining. The Eagles maintained that advantage into the final minute and sealed the victory by going 6-for-6 from the line in the last 24 seconds of the contest.
Johnson led all scorers with 24 points, while Green added 22 points and Nicole Gwynn chipped in 12. Wright State was led by 16 points by Claire Henson and 15 points from Magestro-Kennedy.
Player of the Game
Green notched her second double-double of the month with 13 rebounds to go with her season-high 22 points. She did most of her damage in the second half comeback as she had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the half alone. Green hit 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including 6-of-8 free throws, and added three assists and a pair of steals.
Stat of the Game
After Wright State's 9-for-12 performance from long range in the first half, Georgia Southern held the Raiders to just 2-of-9 from three in the second half.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the second half comeback
"I thought it was incredible effort and resiliency by our team in the second half. Obviously, we knew that we put ourselves in a really tough spot, especially with what was probably historical shooting by Wright State in the first half - they could not miss. We just showed a lot of togetherness and a lot of toughness to be able to come back and then finish it off at the end, especially with the free throws."
Coach Haden on the message at the break to her team
"The biggest thing we talked about at halftime is that there's no such thing as a 20-point shot. We're down, we just want to chip away and be methodical with it. We talked about trying to be within 10 going into the fourth quarter, just with the stops we were getting and the way we were converting we were ahead of schedule, so when we got to that 11-12 minute mark we knew we were in a good spot."
Next Up
The Eagles close out action in the GCU Christmas Classic by taking on host Grand Canyon at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 21.
