The Georgia Southern women’s basketball team will travel to play the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at 7 p.m. for the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. 

On Saturday, GS played their final regular season game against Georgia State in Atlanta. The team won by three points and with the win were able to clinch the ninth seed in the tournament.

This will be the Eagles first time making the tournament since the 2017-2018 season. They lost that game to Louisiana 81-88 in a triple OT thriller.

GS looks to make some noise in the tournament to overshadow what has been a season full of ups and downs. 

The Eagles split the season series with the Ragin’ Cajuns 1-1, winning at home by 16 and losing in Louisiana by 12.

Louisiana is led by junior forward Ty’Reona Doucet on offense. Doucet was named to the All-Conference Second Team after leading the Ragin’ Cajuns in scoring and rebounding with 12.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. She also helped lead Louisiana to the fourth seed in the conference tournament. 

The Ragin’ Cajuns hold a 17-12 record while having a 10-8 conference record.

GS hopes to play their style of play while also making sure that they try to limit some of the issues that have plagued them throughout the season. 

“Tonight we’ll have to do all the things well to pull off this tournament road win in their house,” Head Coach Anita Howard said. “Value the ball by limiting turnovers, rebounds, and attacking in transition will all be key factors. We have to play free and loose to have fun to showcase that true Eagle style of play.”

The game is a must win for both teams, as the winner will go on to the next round of the tournament. The winner will then play the winner of Little Rock/Appalachian State

Elijah Jackson, The George-Anne Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu