College of Charleston
Georgia Southern
Cougars Rally, Defeat Eagles 57-53
1/9/2010 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The College of Charleston women's basketball team held the Eagles to just two baskets in the final nine minutes and rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat Georgia Southern, 57-53, this afternoon in front of 762 fans at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
The Cougars snapped a two-game skid and improved to 10-5 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Eagles dropped to 7-8 and 2-4 in the league.
Carolyn Whitney nailed a three-pointer with 11:18 remaining in the second half to give the Eagles a 10-point, 45-35, lead. It capped an 11-1 run by Georgia Southern that began after Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) tied the score, 34-34, with 15:09 to go.
Indya Mudd's (New Orleans, La.) lay-up at 10:32 to cut the margin to eight, started the Cougars on a 15-4 run, led by a nine-point surge from Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.), over the next six minutes to take their first lead of the half, 50-49 with 4:20 remaining. Charleston held the Eagles to just one basket and two free throws and made seven of eight free throws down the stretch and took away the 57-53 win.
The Cougars led most of a close fist half until the 2:31 mark when a layup by Jessica Geiger put Eagles on top for the first time. Her basket accounted for two of the Eagles nine unanswered points that saw a six-point Cougar lead evaporate into a three-point, 27-24, halftime lead for Georgia Southern.
Gerty led the Cougars with 17 points and was followed by Jones with 13 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Whitney paced the Eagles with 14 points. J'Lisia Ogburn followed with 12 points and six rebounds.
After shooting just 28.6 percent from the field in the first half, the Cougars rebounded with a 41.7 percent effort in the second to end the game with 34.6. Georgia Southern shot 39.5 percent from the game. Both teams were five-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc and the Eagles' 14-for-20 effort from the charity stripe was only eclipsed by Charleston going 16-for-19.
The Cougars out-rebounded the Eagles 35-28 and had nine more offensive boards, 14-5, that resulted in an 11-1 advantage in second-half poitns. Turnovers were close with Georgia Southern holding the 19-17 edge.
Charleston returns to action Monday, Jan. 11, when the Cougars host the Terriers of Wofford in a 7 p.m. tip-off. For ticket information to this and all other home games visit www.CofCSports.com or call 843.953.CofC (2632).
