The rivalry between Georgia Southern and Georgia State’s women’s basketball teams was a tough battle and full of excitement.

On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles, who were 5-19 headed into this game, and the Panthers, who held a record of 6-18, squared off in a Sun Belt matchup that would involve the winner getting their third conference win of the season.

First half

The first quarter started out strong for GS. Sophomore guard,Alexis Brown started off the scoring for the Eagles with a three, which tied the game at 3. For a few minutes, the team’s leader in assists, sophomore guard, Amira Atwater, switched lanes and scored 5 of her 7 points early, which included an impressive step-back three.

Following an and-1 from freshman forward, Aliyah Belcher, Alexis Brown went on to hit another three to give the Eagles an 18-14 advantage.

However, the Panthers would go on a 5-0 run to end the quarter, taking a 19-18 lead.

The second quarter was GSU dominated.

The Eagles were only able to put up 8 points in those 10 minutes, which included a three at the buzzer from senior guard, Trellanie English-Lurry.

At halftime, the Panthers led 36-26.

Second half

The first half of the third quarter continued to be GSU dominated. The Eagles were not able to bring the game back to within 10 points until 3 minutes to go in the quarter, and by the time the buzzer sounded, the Eagles only had an 8-point deficit, the score being 48-40.

Starting the fourth quarter, the Eagles looked tough.

Sophomore guard Hailey Dias-Allen hit a three to make it a 48-45 game. Shortly after, Alexis Brown converted on an and-1 to bring the game to within 2.

Back to back threes from sophomore guard, Nakol Franks, and junior guard, Rhein Beamon, gave the Eagles their first lead, 54-52, since the first half.

Both teams continued to fight back and forth, however, with about 2 minutes left in the game, the Eagle defense failed and the Panther offense prevailed, resulting in a final score of 66-58.

Alexis Brown led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points on 4 of 10 shooting, which included 2 threes.

Hailey Dias-Allen also scored in the double digits, finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Rhein Beamon led the way on the glass for GS, finishing with 8 total rebounds to go along with 9 points.

Amira Atwater continued her ways and finished top of the stat line in assists for the Eagles, finishing with 4 to go along with 7 points.

What’s next?

The Eagles’ next game will be Thursday at 1:30 p.m. against UTA, a team that they have already beat this year in an exciting home matchup.

The game will be shown on ESPN3 and can be listened to on Georgia Southern Sports Network.