Georgia Southern women’s basketball winds down their season as a pair of Sun Belt foes travel to Hanner Fieldhouse this week. The Eagles will face the South Alabama Jaguars on Thursday, March 1, and the Troy Trojans on Saturday, March 3.

South Alabama Jaguars (16-11; 9-7)

The Jaguars travel to Statesboro after a heartbreaking loss at the hand of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns by a score of 56-59.

The team has been in a slide of late, losing six out of their last seven contests. With the Sun Belt Tournament looming large, the Jaguars look to gain momentum going into it.

The Eagles come into the contest dropping 19 out of their last 21 games, but have the opportunity to play spoiler and drop South Alabama in the standings with a win in this game. I

n the first matchup between the two teams, which took place in Mobile, it was South Alabama who came out on top, defeating the Eagles by a score of 79-52.

The Jags are led by senior center Chyna Ellis, who averages 13.4 points per game, and redshirt freshman guard Savannah Jones, who averages 12.1 points per game.

Defensively, GS is going to have to slow down Ellis and Jones, who are both offensive forces.

Offensively, the Eagles are led by a duo of players, consisting of sophomore guard Alexis Brown, who scores eight points a game, and sophomore guard, Nakol Franks, who also averages eight points per game.

If the guards can get hot early, and facilitate the ball well, look for the Eagles to knock off the Jaguars.

Troy Trojans (16-11; 11-5)

The Trojans come into this matchup in fourth place, right in front of South Alabama, and with it being the last game of the season, they are looking to improve their seeding for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Winners of three games in a row, Troy relies heavily on sophomore forward, Amber Rivers, who averages 14.5 points per contest, and sophomore guard, Kayla Robinson who averages 13.1 points per game.

In the first matchup between the two teams, Troy rolled to an 88-47 win, and Rivers and Robinson combined for 36 points.

In order for the Eagles to come out on top in this game, they are going to have to slow down the sophomore duo, a task which hasn’t been easy for defenses all year long.

Offensively, the Eagles are going to need to get off to a hot start, especially since the offense of Troy, which averages 82.3 points per game, has one of the most prolific scoring attacks in the Sun Belt.

One thing going for GS, however, is Troy’s 5-9 record on the road, so look for some home-cooking to provide the Eagles with a spark that could give them a win before traveling to New Orleans for the conference tournament.

Ryan Kostensky, The George-Anne sports candidate, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu