STATESBORO, Ga. — A fourth quarter comeback came up short on Saturday at the Hanner Fieldhouse, as Arkansas State battled back from as much as a 26-point deficit to cut it to single digits, but dropped an 80-67 decision at Georgia Southern.
The Red Wolves (9-13, 6-5 SBC) outscored the Eagles (7-15, 4-7) 27-18 in the final stanza, with Jireh Washington scoring 11 of her team-leading 20 points in the quarter. Morgan Wallace also registered double-digit points, dropping 17 and nailing a pair of threes.
Peyton Martin was A-State's leading rebounder (8), while Wallace grabbed five boards to go along with three steals. As a team, the Scarlet and Black shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64), including 55.6 percent in the fourth quarter (10-of-18). Defensively, the Red Wolves forced 22 turnovers on 13 steals while committing 14.
Georgia Southern was led by 25 points from Jaiden Hamilton, who hit seven three-pointers as part of her eight made field goals. Tatum Barber added 14 points while Alexis Brown hauled in a game-high 11 boards. The Eagles won the rebounding battle 55-27 and shot 44. Percent from the field (28-of-63), including 40.0 percent from beyond-the-arc (10-of-25).
Williams scored the game's opening bucket on a corner three at the eight-minute mark, which sparked an A-State 7-3 run to open the contest. The Eagles then went on an 8-0 run highlighted by a four-point play by Barber to lead 11-7 with under five minutes left in the first.
A-State then reclaimed the lead at 12-11 when Kayla Williams, who scored eight points on the day, knocked down a pull-up jumper followed by a corner trey by Wallace. After Georgia Southern took a 15-12 lead, Williams knocked down her second three of the day to tie things up at 15. Leading 18-17 after a Washington layup, Nikki McDonald hit a shot off the glass with a second remaining to give the Eagles a 20-17 lead after the first.
A short jumper by Barber gave the Eagles a five-point lead to open the second, but the Red Wolves went on a 6-0 run to reclaim a 23-22 lead. Georgia Southern then scored five straight to lead 27-23 and force an Arkansas State timeout. The Eagles stretched that lead out to 30-23 before Madison Heckert drained a three with 4:32 to go to make it 30-26. Georgia Southern then closed on a 9-3 run to take a 39-29 halftime lead.
Georgia Southern came out in the second half on an 18-2 run that included 16 straight over nearly five minutes to stretch its lead out to 26. The Red Wolves managed to claw back with a 7-0 run that included a three by Wallace and a fastbreak layup by Payton Tennison to cut the deficit down to 19 at 59-40. The Eagles led 62-40 after three.
Jada Ford sparked a Red Wolves surge in the fourth quarter with a three to open and cut it to 19. A-State scored seven straight after a Hamilton free throw, including a three-point play by Washington that cut it to 13 with less than seven to go. Hamilton halted the run with a three at the 6:17 mark to make it 66-50 before the Red Wolves scored seven unanswered that included a Ford trey to pull the Scarlet and Black to within nine with less than five to go.
Another Washington three-point play with 2:14 left made it an eight-point contest before the Eagles closed the game on an 8-3 run.
Arkansas State returns home at 7 p.m. CT Thursday, Feb. 15, to take on UT Arlington at First National Bank Arena. The game will be aired live on ESPN+ while the broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Radio Network on 95.3 The Ticket, as well as 970 AM and 96.9 FM.
A-State’s comeback bid falls short at Georgia Southern
The Red Wolves outscored the Eagles 27-18 in the final stanza, with Jireh Washington scoring 11 of her team-leading 20 points in the quarter.