Saturday, January 06, 2001

STATESBORO, Ga. - Senior Sharon Mitchell scored a game-high 16 points in lifting Georgia Southern to an 87-66 victory over Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State at Hanner Fieldhouse on Saturday (Jan. 6).

The win improved the Lady Eagles to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while ETSU falls to 1-12 overall and 1-3 in the league.

Mitchell's 16 points came off a 6-for-9 shooting night from the floor while hitting 4-of-4 from the line. She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Danielle Quinn chipped in a career-high 13 points, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-3 from the line and both of her three-point attempts. Tiffany Lanier also added 13 and Alie Rousseau scored 12 in the winning cause.

Georgia Southern's advantage never extended past eight through the first half, with ETSU taking leads of its own midway through the period. But a six-point halftime lead was increased to 11, 55-44, at the 12:41 mark when Sarah Davis canned a three-pointer, and the Eagles maintained their double-digit lead for most of the contest. Davis' layup with 2:21 remaining gave the hosts a 24-point cushion, 85-61, their biggest lead of the night before settling for the 21-point win.

The Lady Eagles hit 54 percent (30-of-56) of their shots from the floor while hitting 85 percent (23-of-27) from the line. Georgia Southern also recorded 20 assists to ETSU's nine.

East Tennessee State was paced by Chris Forman's 15-point effort, while Misty Copas added 11 in the losing effort.

Georgia Southern will return to action on Tuesday when it travels to College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. tip. The Lady Eagles will return home on Jan. 15 to host UNC Greensboro, that game also to start at 7 p.m.