Women’s basketball spooks Fort Valley State in exhibition opener

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  • GS senior Sierra Butler goes up for a block last season. She scored 16 points in the GS exhibition win on Halloween.

Kaitlin Sells

The women’s basketball team opened its season with a 92-47 win over Fort Valley State in an exhibition game in Hanner Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

First Half

The Eagles led the first quarter 15-6, and ended the first half leading the wildcats 39-17, with the help from a 14-0 run in the second quarter. They shot 36.6 percent from the floor, and 25 percent from beyond the arc. Although they pulled ahead in scoring, they weren’t too careful about their fouling.

“Two things we were a little disappointed in, particularly in the first half, were turnovers and fouls,” Coach Kip Drown told gseagles.com. “We fouled five shooters in the first half.”

Second Half

GS continued to move and pass the ball steadily, shooting 55 percent from the floor and 54 percent from the three-point range. In the third quarter alone the Eagles drained six 3-pointers. Although they did have nine turnovers in the second half, they made up for it by coming away with a 45-point victory.

“I thought in the second half we came back out strong, and I really thought it started with our post players passing the ball well,” Drown told gseagles.com. “It all started with our post players.”

Analysis

By the end of the game, Georgia southern had 21 assists on their 37 field goals, and an impressive three players that shot into the double digits. Senior Sierra Butler scored 16 points, sophomore Nakol Franks totaled out at 12 points, and another fellow sophomore Alexis Brown shot 10 points. The Eagles’ defensive and offensive rebounds were also quite impressive, overall having 61.

“We needed that,” Coach Drown told gseagles.com. “We needed to shoot the ball in the second half like we did.”

The Eagles will start regular season on Friday, November 10, by traveling to Greensboro, N.C. and facing North Carolina A&T at 5 p.m.