BOX SCORE (PDF)

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Mya Burns scored a game-high 20 points and Taya Gibson added a career-best 19 as seventh-seeded Georgia Southern earned its first-ever Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Championship victory with an 88-79 decision against 10th-seeded Georgia State on Wednesday at the Pensacola Bay Center. 

Georgia Southern (18-9), which had previously been 0-4 in SBC Tournament games in program history, advances to the quarterfinal round to face second-seeded UTA. Tip-off is slated for Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Pensacola Bay Center and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Eagles used several sizable runs in the game, including a 13-2 spree to start the contest, to take a 50-36 advantage into halftime. Georgia State cut its deficit to as few as seven on several occasions, including with 3:45 left. But Georgia Southern was a clutch 14-of-18 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.  

Both squads were nearly even from the floor with Georgia Southern shooting 47.5 percent (28-of-59) and Georgia State connecting on 47.6 percent (30-of-63) of its shots. The Eagles held an impressive 46-24 edge on the boards. 

Four Georgia Southern players scored in double figures. In addition to Burns (20) and Gibson (19), Terren Ward totaled 17 and Ja’nya Love-Hill 14. Gibson, Love-Hill and Ward all had game-highs of eight rebounds, while Love-Hill dished out a game-high six assists. 

Georgia State (10-16) placed five players in double-figure scoring, led by Taniyah Worth’s 15.