With a young team, the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team started their season by hosting the Wofford Terriers. A quick start from Wofford set the tone for the game, where GS would never lead in the effort.

Here are five takeaways from the season debut:

The team is more effective on offense when they go straight to the hole

Several missed long shots were the downfall of the GS offense this game. In the first quarter, there were several shot attempts from outside of the three point line. These failed attempts allowed Wofford to build an early 12-0 lead.

When GS switched to a more aggressive and direct approach in the second quarter, they lessened the Wofford lead and only trailed 41-33. This change of play shocked the Wofford defense, allowing the Eagles to go on a 10-0 run.

According to Head Coach Kip Drown, they went 5-20 from the three point line, which is a cause for concern.

The team was lacking on defense and rebounds

Wofford dominated the Eagles, producing a lead as large as 26 points in the fourth quarter. On several occasions, Wofford players were left unguarded, and three out of the five players in the starting lineup ended in double digit point values over fifteen.

For Wofford, Chloe Wanink, remained mostly untouched and closed out the game with 30 points (12-18 FG, 5-7 from the three point line) while most rebounds were grabbed by Jamari McDavid, who led the game with 12 rebounds. Sarah Moore led GS with 6 rebounds.

There was little ball movement by GS, which Wofford took advantage of

The Terrier defense figured out GS offense pretty early, and put pressure on them in the paint. On offense, there were multiple moments of offensive confusion and Wofford was responsible for 8 steals. GS gave up four turnovers in nine possessions in the third quarter.

Brown alone in fighting effort

Alexis Brown was a standout player, as expected, but a poor game from last season’s offensive star Nakol Franks, left her fighting on her own. Brown was slow to start but ended the game with 14 points, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 3 rebounds. Franks went 2-8 in FG and 1-6 from the 3. It is crucial for these two to work together and find a rhythm. Junior Hailey Dias-Allen stepped up to the plate and put up 14 points, 1 assist, and 4 rebounds.

Eagles started slow and Wofford pounced

The Eagles allowed Wofford to set a rapid pace of the game within the first two minutes, leaving them looking frazzled and unprepared. Besides some spurts in the second quarter by GS, Wofford had control of the game and showed their aggression.

GS tried to play catch up the entire game and called seemingly multiple back to back timeouts to reset their strategies. Wofford scores 13 points from GS turnovers alone.

McClain Baxley contributed to this article.

Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Sports Candidate, gasport@georgiasouthern.edu