CHARLESTON, S.C. - Georgia Southern women's basketball held off a feisty fourth-quarter charge by host Charleston Southern to come away with a 65-57 victory on Tuesday at the Buccaneer Fieldhouse in Charleston, S.C.
The Eagles evened their record to 3-3 on the season with the win, while Charleston Southern fell to 1-5 with the loss.
Charleston Southern held a 7-6 lead with 4:09 left in the period, but Destiny Garrett hit a three-pointer out of the media time out that sparked an 11-3 run to end the quarter and give Georgia Southern a 17-10 lead.
Each team got hot in the second quarter as the Eagles hit 3-of-7 long range shots, while Charleston Southern hit 3-of-6. Georgia Southern led by six, 31-25, at halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles extended their lead to double digits by ending the third quarter on a 14-3 run, taking a 53-40 advantage into the fourth.
After a Shanti Simmons layup put the Eagles up by 12, 59-47, with 4:14 remaining, the Bucs embarked on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to two, 59-57. Kishyah Anderson hit a layup to give the Eagles a two-possession lead, 61-57, with under a minute remaining, and the Eagles closed out the win with four free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Garrett led all scorers on the night with 24 points, while Simmons and Anderson each added 11 points. Charleston Southern was led by Thelma Barbitch's 23 points as she hit 7-of-14 shots from beyond the arc.
Eagle of the Game
Garrett notched her first double-double as an Eagle as she added 10 rebounds on the night. Garrett shot 8-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and added two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
Stat of the Game
Six different Eagles hit at least one three-pointer on the night. In addition to Garrett's four threes, McKenna Eddings had two, and four others hit one three - Shanti Simmons, Kyla Bryant, Jamiria Jones and Kayla Cleaveland.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the game tonight against Charleston Southern
"I guess we made enough plays to be able to finish the game off. We missed a lot of shots that we would normally make. And it seemed like we got to the rim, but we just couldn't convert on those. But I'm proud of the resilience we showed down the stretch."
Coach Haden on the effort of Destiny Garrett tonight
"She was huge. She just makes so many plays for us and does so many things."
Next Up
The Eagles wrap up its two-game road swing by traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., on Sunday to take on Wofford in a 2 p.m. contest against the Terriers.
