The Georgia Southern University women’s basketball team experienced a close loss against Southern Conference opponents Davidson College on Monday’s Military Appreciation doubleheader, falling 69-62.

The Lady Eagles came into the contest 3-10 in the Southern Conference, and after experiencing a winning month of January were looking to snap a three-game losing streak. 

Davidson came into the contest ranked third and a 10-2 record in the SoCon.  The Lady Eagles fell to Davidson 48-72 in their last meeting in December and have a 19-21 record against Davidson in the all-time series.

The starting five for GSU were sophomore Danielle Spencer, junior Meredyth Frye, freshman Anna Claire Knight and sophomore Mimi Dubose. Guard Janay Wilson put the Lady Eagles on the board early, but they were unable to capitalize on the momentum and Davidson began to take over.

The Wildcats scored the next nine points, until Dubose went to the arch to give the Lady Eagles three, making the score 7-17 with 13 minutes left in the first half.

Sophomore guard Lacie Dowling scored a three-pointer off the bench, putting GSU within 13 points of the Wildcats with five minutes left in the first half.  Davidson muscled its way to 18 points in the paint, as opposed to GSU’s four. The Lady Eagles were unable to overcome Davidson’s tough offense and ended the half 24-43.

The Lady Eagles came in the second half ready to play, holding the Wildcats to four points while GSU was able to score seven during the first five minutes of the second half, cutting Davidson’s lead to 16 points.  However, Davidson was able to score the next seven points before Frye scored three more points for the Lady Eagles, making the score 34-54 Davidson.

With ten minutes left in the game, the Lady Eagles went on an eight-point scoring streak, including a jumper from Spencer and two free throws from Frye.  Dubose scored her fourth three-pointer of the night followed by another from Jordi Cook to bring the Lady Eagles within nine points of the Wildcats with 7:25 left to play.

With two minutes left in the game, the Lady Eagles were down 57-69, until Knight was able to score a layup and bring the Lady Eagles within 10 points of the Wildcats.  In the final seconds, Wilson scored the final basket of the night, also her of first three-pointer of the night, making the final score 69-62 

Dubose continued to lead the Lady Eagles in points with 14, and Frye was not far behind her with 11 points.

“I certainly would have loved a win — not happy with a loss by any stretch of the imagination, but at the same time we just took two of the top teams in the conference down to the wire”, said head coach Cram.

“It’s one thing when you’re playing hard against the last place team, but when you’re doing that against the top teams and competing, and you continue to see improvement in the attitudes there, that’s all I can ask for as a coach”, said Cram.

The Lady Eagles will hit the road for a two-game series, the first on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. against the Samford Bulldogs and the second on Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. against Chattanooga.