Georgia Southern University
22-6,15-2Sun Belt
Appalachian State
11-17,4-13Sun Belt
Eagles Handle App State On Wednesday, 62-48
2/25/2026 8:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Georgia Southern clinches a top two seed; plays for Sun Belt regulars season title on Friday at Marshall
BOONE, N.C. - Georgia Southern women's basketball clinched a top two seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference tournament with Wednesday night's 62-48 win at App State in Boone.
The Eagles (22-6, 15-2 SBC) sit tied with Troy atop the league standings going into Friday's final night of play in the Sun Belt. A loss by Troy or a win by the Eagles over Marshall clinches the No. 1 seed by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker against Troy. App State falls to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the league with the loss.
The 22 wins also ties a school record for the most in a single season in the NCAA era of Georgia Southern women's basketball (post-1985). The 2000-01 SoCon Regular Season Championship squad went 22-7.
Georgia Southern held the Mountaineers to just 1-of-11 from the floor in taking a 16-9 lead after the first quarter of action. App State cut the gap to three, 29-26, at halftime, but Kyla Bryant hit a three-pointer coming out of halftime to spark a 11-0 run in the third quarter. The Eagles led, 40-27, and never let the Mountaineers back within single digits the rest of the way.
Three Eagles reached double figures on the night, led by Kayla Cleaveland's 14 points and Kyla Bryant's 13 points - both highs this season for the Eagles in Sun Belt contests. McKenna Eddings added 10 points as well. App State was led by Emma Smith's game-high 18 points.
Eagle of the Game
Bryant knocked down 3-of-5 three-pointers, while also dishing out a game-high four assists and adding three rebounds. It was her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season.
Stat of the Game
All eight players who saw action for the Eagles in the game had at least one assist.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the importance of tonight's victory over the Mountaineers
"All year long, we've talked about the 'one game at a time' mentality. It hasn't been more important than it was today. Not looking ahead to Marshall, where you can't play for 1st place if we don't take care of business tonight. I'm proud of the focus that our team had and the maturity that they showed on the court."
Next Up
Georgia Southern closes out the 2025-26 regular season on Friday, February 27, taking on Marshall at 6 p.m. in Huntington, W. Va. It is a doubleheader with the men's team, who plays at Marshall on ESPN2 at 9 p.m.
