STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball could not overcome a sluggish first half of shooting as Louisiana notched a 68-57 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Eagles on Sunday afternoon at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center.
The Ragin' Cajuns moved to 5-5 overall and 1-0 in the league with the victory, while Georiga Southern falls to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the Sun Belt. It was the sixth straight win in the series for Louisiana, dating back to 2020
The Eagles took an early 7-2 lead in the game's first two minutes, but Louisiana went on a 16-0 run to close otu the quarter with a 18-7 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns were able to stretch that lead to 15 points, 37-22, at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Eagles shot better from the field, but Louisiana went 7-of-9 from the floor to build at 20-lead at the end of the frame. The Ragin' Cajuns extended that lead to 24, 60-36, with 8:34 remaining when Georgia Southern began its comeback. An 18-4 run over the next five minutes cut the lead to 10, and a three-point play by Bukky Akinsola brought Georgia Southern within seven, 64-57, with 2:05 remaining.
Louisiana answered with a bucket, however, and did not allow the Eagles to score over the final two minutes to close out the victory.
Nicole Gwynn led a trio of Eagles in double figures with 20 points, while Akinsola added 13 points and Indya Green chipped in 12. Erica Lafayette led a quartet of Ragin' Cajuns offensively with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 three-pointers.
Player of the Game
Gwynn scored half of the Eagles' 22 first-half points before the break and finished the day with her second 20-point contest of the season. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and also added three rebounds and three assists on the day.
Stat of the Game
Between Gwynn's first basket of the game, at the 8:03 mark of the first quarter, and her first three pointer of the game with 1:38 left in the second quarter, Georgia Southern went 15 minutes and 19 seconds as a team without a field goal.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the slow start and the fourth quarter comeback
"Really proud of our fight in the fourth quarter. I need to figure out what I need to do to enable our team to come out with a better start in the first. This is something that has plagued us the last several games and even though we are the comeback kids - we feel we can get back into any game, it's Sun Belt play, these are all really good teams so it's just draining, mentally and physically, whenever you constantly have to fight back."
Next Up
Georgia Southern hits the road for its first Sun Belt trip of the season, traveling to Monroe, La., to take on ULM on Thursday, January 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
