AMERICUS, Ga. – The Georgia Southwestern State University women's basketball team saw its home unbeaten streak come to an end Saturday afternoon as Anderson University used a decisive second-half surge to hand the Lady Hurricanes an 80-73 nonconference setback inside Storm Dome.
GSW led by as many as 14 points late in the second quarter and took a 43-31 advantage into halftime, but Anderson flipped the game after the break, outscoring the Lady Hurricanes 49-30 over the final two quarters to secure the win.
The matchup marked the first-ever meeting between the programs during Georgia Southwestern's NCAA era.
Brittle Sets the Pace
Madison Brittle led the Lady Hurricanes with a season-high 18 points, finishing 8 of 12 from the field while adding seven rebounds, five steals and an assist.
Brittle was aggressive from the opening tip, scoring in transition and in the paint as the Lady Hurricanes built their early cushion.
Hurricanes Control First Half
GSW controlled the tempo early, shooting nearly 65 percent in the second quarter and limiting Anderson to 31 points in the opening half.
Kassidy Neal provided a spark offensively, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor in the game and finished with 11 points, while
Janiya Johnson added 15 points and four assists.
The Lady Hurricanes also found success attacking the rim, outscoring Anderson 48-32 in the paint for the game.
Anderson Takes Control After the Break
Momentum swung quickly in the third quarter as Anderson erupted for 30 points, knocking down four three-pointers and forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets. The Trojans turned a 12-point halftime deficit into a one-point lead midway through the period and carried the advantage into the fourth. Anderson was made all 12 of their free throw attempts in the second half and finished 15 of 15 from the line in the game.
Georgia Southwestern struggled to find its rhythm offensively over the final two quarters, shooting just 35 percent in both the third and fourth periods.
Numbers Tell the Story
Several season trends surfaced in the loss for the Lady Hurricanes, including their second-lowest total of made three-pointers, second-lowest team foul total, second-lowest defensive rebound total, and second-lowest free throw percentage of the season.
Despite the challenges, GSW stayed within striking distance late, cutting the deficit to five in the final two minutes before Anderson closed the game at the free-throw line.
With the result, Georgia Southwestern moves to 7-4 overall and suffers its first home loss of the season, while Anderson improves to 5-6 on the year.
Next Up
It's Peach Belt Conference play for the rest of the regular season. Game three of the Lady Hurricanes current four-game homestand comes on Wednesday against Georgia College & State University at 5:30 p.m.
