Three Georgia Southern women's basketball legends were a part of a special recognition during the Eagles' final home game of 2023-24 as the jerseys of Phylette Blake, Regina Days-Bryan and Trina Roberts were retired in a halftime ceremony.
Depictions of Blake's number 15, Days-Bryan's number 42 and Roberts' number 50 are now fixed on the walls of historic Hanner Fieldhouse, and will also carry over to the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convention Center when the new facility opens up in 2024-25.
We had a chance to talk to these three legendary ladies to talk about the ceremony and their experiences returning to Hanner to be honored by their university and by their family, friends and teammates. Obviously, it was a very emotional day for all involved.
"This is really humbling to be back and be a part of the festivities," Blake said. "Seeing people who I haven't seen in years, and not having been to Hanner for a number of years, it's very exciting."
"When I first turned around to see my teammates - the first thing I thought is that I was so proud," Days-Bryan said. "The next thing you know, I was in tears. It was just a moment of proudness and elation."
"It felt amazing," Roberts said. "And it was an absolute honor. It was something I never thought or even dreamed about. But to be there in the moment, it was surreal, but also just an incredible feeling."
The accolades for all three speak for themselves - in Blake, you have the all-time leading scorer in Georgia Southern women's basketball history, with Days-Bryan second closely behind. The pair are the only two Eagles to record 2,000+ points in their careers. Roberts, meanwhile, is the all-time leading rebounder in school history and all three are members of the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame.
The trio were also parts of some of the best teams Georgia Southern women's basketball ever put out on the floor. Roberts was a part of the 1981-82 team that made the first national postseason appearance, advancing to the AIAW Round of 16 in New Jersey, while Days-Bryan and Blake were part of multiple New South Women's Athletic Conference (NSWAC) championships.
With so many individual and team accolades, we asked them about any Hanner memories that stand out from their days in Statesboro.
"The practices. They were intense," Blake said. "My first year, practicing against Regina - she was the banger and I was the slasher. She was pushing me around and I was like, 'No, we are not having that!' She helped me to become physical and we helped each other to get better."
"People always looked at Hanner as just 'Well, that's the place you go to pay basketball'," Days-Bryan said. "But it's where I found my family - my basketball sisters. And it wasn't always about basketball. We laughed, we cried, and we had great times. There were times where, if we had a bad day or a bad game, coach would come in and say 'Today, don't worry about it. We're going to play hide and seek.' It was all about developing those relationships with the people I met, both coaching and playing."
"I know I enjoyed playing here," Roberts said. "I always found it to be amazing. And I liked the court - it was an old court and we loved playing on it. I'm happy for Georgia Southern [building the new convocation center] but it's sort of sad to see it come to an end."
All told, almost 100 friends, teammates and family were in Hanner Fiedhouse for the ceremony. It was a collection of who's who in Georgia Southern women's basketball, which included some surprises for our honorees.
"The coach who recruited me, Rod Bolden, showed up," Regina Days-Bryan said. "And just before I came to the gym, there were like 41 people at my house, friends and family members. My brother Steven flew in to surprise me from Las Vegas!"
"I was excited to see everybody," Roberts said. "I'm serious. The ladies that I had with me here today were old teammates that I haven't seen in over 20 years. It was great seeing every single one of them."
"The young ladies that I played with from 85-89," Blake said. "And some of the ladies I've known of, but didn't get to see play. Even some of the guys like Mike Curry, Bill McNair, Anthony Forrest - it was great seeing them too."
These three women blazed the trail for Georgia Southern and it will forever be an inspiration to the current and future Eagles to see their jerseys displayed prominently in both homes of Georgia Southern basketball.
