STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's basketball is off to the second-best start in school history after picking up an 83-77 Sun Belt Conference victory over visiting Appalachian State on Thursday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles improved to 3-1 in the league and 13-3 overall with the win, which is the second-best start to a season behind only the 1981-82 squad that began the year 14-2. App State falls to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt with the loss.
Georgia Southern held the Mountaineers to just 4-of-19 from the field in the first quarter in building a 17-11 lead at the end of the period. The Eagles stretched that lead to 11, 39-28, at halftime.
The Eagles then led by as many as 17 points in the second half, while App State ended up shooting 10-of-17 from the floor in a 31-point fourth quarter, Georgia Southern was able to hold off the late charge.
Senior Terren Ward scored a season-high 35 points to lead a trio of Eagles in double figures. Senior Simone James added 16 points and seven assists while senior Ja'nya Love Hill chipped in 10 points. Faith Alston had 29 points to lead the Mountaineers, while Chae Harris added 20 points.
Eagle of the Game
Ward notched the fifth 30+ point game of her career by hitting 12-of-21 shots from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, while also going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. She added 11 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the year and also tallied a pair of assists. She has now reached 20+ points in ten straight games.
Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern tied a school record by blocking 11 shots on the night - it's happened two other times in school history, at Charleston Southern on Dec. 9. 1991 and at the College of Charleston on January 18, 2012. Redshirt senior Eden Johnson led the way with a career-high five blocks, the first Eagle to record five blocks in a game since 2018.
Quotables
Head Coach Anita Howard on the victory over the Mountaineers
"I wanted to come out and hit first, and I thought we did that. Not happy with the fourth quarter where we gave up 31 points, but I am pleased with our turnovers - we forced 21 and only committed 12, and you have to be able to do that. We had multiple people in double digit scoring, so that's always good. Terren [Ward] was Terren but she also had a good supporting cast tonight."
Next Up
The Eagles wrap up their four-game homestand on Saturday, hosting Old Dominion in a 2 p.m. Sun Belt Conference contest at Hanner Fieldhouse.
