On a quiet Thursday night, the Eagles were determined to make some noise with their second conference win of the season. And make noise they did with a 78-70 win over visiting Coastal Carolina.

Georgia Southern entered the game 5-11 on the season with a 1-4 record in Sun Belt Conference play. The Chanticleers from Coastal were 7-8 with a 2-3 conference record. The Eagles scored first and continued the lead the whole game behind Angel McGowan with 21 points and 5 rebounds and Patrice Butler who put up 20 points and 9 rebounds of her own.

The Eagles did a good job of allowing Coastal’s starters to only 35 points, but sharpshooter Kennedy Archer got into a rhythm, and the Eagles struggled to contain her.

The 1st quarter was all Georgia Southern as they scored on nearly every possession, and the Chanticleers failed to respond as efficiently. Defense finally showed up for both teams to close out the first half, as neither team shot over 50% in the 2nd.

It was in the 3rd quarter when the Eagles really opened the game, scoring 21 points and capitalizing on free throws going 8-9. The 4th quarter was desperation time for Coastal Carolina, but Georgia Southern didn’t let up even in the final minute when fans were begging them to stop shooting.

It was a great all-around game for the Eagles in a time in the season when they needed a good win. The Georgia Southern women’s basketball team are now 6-11 overall and 2-4 in conference. They will play again Saturday afternoon at home at 2 p.m. against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.