STATESBORO, Ga. -- Nicole Newton tallied her fourth double-double of the season to lead Georgia Southern to a 57-41 victory over Elon Monday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse. The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern (11-11, 8-8 SoCon) scored two quick baskets before Elon (4-18, 3-12 SoCon) tied the game at 4-4 with 16:32 to play in the half. The Eagles then went on a 14-3 run sparked by a layup and free throw by Newton, putting Georgia Southern up 18-7. Elon's Sade Jordan hit a jumper to cut the Eagle lead to nine before Georgia Southern answered with a 5-0 spurt. Tierra Bumbrey kept the Phoenix in the game with six straight points, trimming the deficit back down to nine, at 25-16, with under three minutes to play in the half. The Eagles went into the half on a 7-0 run, giving them the 32-16 edge at the break.
Elon's Bumbrey led all scorers with nine at the break while three Eagles had five points a piece. Newton grabbed six boards, giving the Eagles the 21-16 rebounding edge. Georgia Southern shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field, while holding Elon to a mere 24.1 percent (7-of-29).
The Phoenix came out of the break scoring three quick points before a Tiffany Brown trey got the ball rolling for the Eagles. A layup by Shawnda Atwood at the 13:37 mark gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game, 19, at 41-22. Elon answered with a 9-2 run, including back-to-back three's by Jessica Williams and Nicole Allison to cut the Eagle lead to 13 at 43-30 with 11:40 remaining in the game. The Phoenix could not put together another run, as the Eagles took the 57-41 victory.
Newton and Bumbrey led all scorers with 11 points, while Newton pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Dana Benemon had nine points and five rebounds for the Eagles. Samantha McComas grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Phoenix. The Eagles out-rebounded the Phoenix 44-34, but gave the ball away 18 times compared to Elon's 14. Georgia Southern finished the evening shooting 42.6 percent (23-of-54) while Elon shot 25.9 percent (15-of-58).
The Eagles return to action on Saturday, Feb. 12 as they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on Wofford. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. Elon returns home on Feb. 12 to face Davidson.
Game Box Score
-- ELON --
