In front of a record 3,925 crowd on Kids Field Trip Day, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team dispatched Coastal Georgia, 78-46, on Friday at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center.
The Eagles improved to 6-3 on the season with the victory, while Coastal Georgia falls to 6-5. In just the second game for Georgia Southern women's basketball in their new facility, the crowd bested the previous single-game women's basketball record by more than 1,000 fans - the previous record of 2,912 was set during the Kids Day game against North Dakota in Hanner Fieldhouse on Nov. 20, 2019.
Junior Jazmyne Jackson set the tone for the Eagles early, knocking down four first-quarter threes as Georgia Southern built a 19-16 lead. The home team was able to extend that lead to six at the break, 34-28.
In the third quarter, the defense clamped down for Georgia Southern, holding the Mariners to just three field goals in the entire period. The Eagles outpointed Coastal Georgia, 27-11, in the frame to then cruise to the 32-point victory.
Jackson led a trio of Eagles in double figures with a game-high 21 points, while Nakiyah Mays-Prince added 12 points and four steals and McKenna Eddings chipped in 11 points off the bench. Peyton Shafer's 15 points led Coastal Georgia.
Player of the Game
Jackson went 4-for-5 from three in the first period and finished the game 6-for-10 from long range, the first Eagle to hit six threes in a game this season. She added three steals, three assists and a pair of rebounds in addition to her third double-digit scoring effort of the season.
Stat of the Game
The 27-point third quarter was the highest-scoring quarter of the year for Georgia Southern. The Eagles hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor (69.2 percent), including 2-for-4 threes and 7-of-10 free throws.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the effort in front of the record crowd against the Mariners
"It was just a really cool experience having so many young fans in the stands rooting for us. It was a great crowd, they brought a lot of energy and I think our girls were able to feed off of that. It was great to see us put the ball in the basket. We scored almost 80 points, had pretty balanced scoring and I thought Jazmyne Jackson shot the ball really well throughout."
Junior Jazmyne Jackson on the Kids Day crowd
"It was amazing, I'm so glad we got to show out for them today. I really enjoyed it, and they were so loud! I loved it."
Next Up
Georgia Southern will travel to Phoenix, Ariz., for the GCU Women's Basketball Have Fayth Christmas Classic on Dec. 18-21, hosted by Grand Canyon. The Eagles open up action against FAU on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
