STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball used a stout defensive effort to knock off visiting Bethune-Cookman, 54-50, in its 2024-25 home opener on Tuesday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles improved to 3-0 with the victory over the Wildcats, while Bethune-Cookman fell to 1-2 on the year. Georgia Southern has now won four straight home openers and finishes Hanner Fieldhouse with a 37-14 all-time mark in home openers in the building.
The close contest was tied at the break, 29-29, and tied at the end of the third quarter, 40-40.
In the pivotal fourth quarter, the Eagles got a layup from Liv Fuller, then a steal and a layup from Naikiyah Mays-Prince to take a four-point lead, 44-40. After a Bethune-Cookman bucket, McKenna Eddings and Jazmyne Jackson each drained a three-pointer to push the lead to 50-42 with 5:53 left, the largest lead of the game for the Eagles.
Bethune-Cookman would cut the lead to two, 52-50, with 52 seconds left, but Mays-Prince would make a pair of clinching free throws with just three seconds left to give the Eagles the win.
The visiting Wildcats shot just 30.2 percent on the night (15-of-53) and made just 3-of-10 three-pointers (30 percent) and shot jut 55.6 percent from the free throw line (15-of-27). The Eagles won despite shooting just 28.1 percent from the floor themselves (18-of-64) and hitting just 4-of-19 from three-point range (21.1 percent).
Player of the Game
Indya Green recorded 14 rebounds in helping Georgia Southern to a +11 margin on the glass, which was key for the victory. It's is her second double-digit rebounding effort through the first three games of the season.
Stat of the Game
In addition to leading the rebounding battle, 53-42, Eagles held a 16-8 edge in second chance points in the four-point win over the Wildcats.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the win over the Wildcats
"Really hard game to play in, when you just can't get anything going offensively. We couldn't stay out of foul trouble either, which put another obstacle in our way to overcome. I'm proud of our kids for just bearing down down the stretch and making enough plays to win."
Next Up
Georgia Southern will host Longwood on Saturday, November 16, in an 11 a.m. contest that represents the final game for women's basketball in Hanner Fieldhouse before moving to the newly completed Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center in December.