Anna Claire Knight had a career day for Georgia Southern, but unfortunately for the Eagles, she was just about the only one scoring in the second half.
    Knight scored 28 and 15 of GSU’s 27 second-half points, but Cal State Northridge was too much to handle as the Eagles lost 70-58, on Tuesday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
    No other GSU player finished with double digits.
    Georgia Southern (1-3) led 31-28 at the half, but the Matadors never looked back after opening the second half on a 25-9 run that saw five GSU turnovers.
    “I think in the first half we were able to contain them on the bounce, which is something we knew was going to be a challenge for us,” GSU head coach Chris Vozab said. “I think we wore down in the second half and we were unable to keep them out of the paint.”
    The Matadors (2-2) spread it around, with guards Ashlee Guay and Cinnamon Lister combining for 35 points and forward Camille Mahlknecht finished with 10.
    Mikayla Thielges was a one-woman wrecking crew on the boards, snagging a game-high 17 rebounds. Cal State Northridge out-rebounded GSU 46-38. Briana Jones led the Eagles with 11. Early in the first half, Jones took a hard fall and got up favoring her right leg.
    “I think it might have slowed her down a little bit, but she was cleared to go and she kept fighting,” Vozab said.
    CSUN opened the second half on a 10-2 run snapped only by a pair of Knight 3s.
    “Once I hit the first couple I was feeling it, so I kept shooting and kept knocking them down,” Knight said. “Every night it can be somebody different on our team, we have so many leaders. Tonight, I was hitting.”
    The Eagles opened the game on a 13-6 run that featured a pair of 3s by Knight another by Lacie Dowling, and four Northridge turnovers.
    The Matadors stayed in the game at the free-throw line, making 12 of 16 attempts, but missed shots from everywhere on the court including making only 2 of 14 attempts.
    The Eagles lost the lead only briefly in the first 20 minutes when Cal State Northridge went on an 11-2 run that included four free throws and a 3 by Lister.
Georgia Southern answered with a run of its own, outscoring the Matadors 13-2 with back-to-back 3s by Dowling and Knight. The Eagles led by as many as nine and took a three-point lead into the locker room.
    The Eagles return to action on Nov. 24. They face Jacksonville at 1 p.m.
The game begins a four-game road trip. GSU doesn’t play at home until it opens the Southern Conference schedule against Furman on Dec. 7, at 5 p.m., in Hanner.
NOTES: Sophomore point guard Alexis Sams missed the second-straight game with a knee injury. … Cal State Northridge junior forward Randi Friess had a homecoming of sorts. Freiss played prep basketball at Savannah Christian and had a vocal group of supporters in attendance. … Knight’s 28 points were the highest point total of the season for an Eagle. The previous high was 15 points scored by MiMi DuBose on Nov. 9, at Auburn.

    Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.