Rusty Cram is not exaggerating when he says his Georgia Southern women’s basketball players are "growing up before our eyes."

When crunch time came Monday night against Wofford, when an important Southern Conference game was on the line, GSU could have done what young teams often do and squandered its 12-point lead. The Lady Eagles almost did, allowing the Terriers to pull within two points with 2:16 to play.

But Cram’s young team (only two seniors and three juniors among 14 players) showed veteran savvy en route to a 56-48 victory at Hanner Fieldhouse. It was the first SoCon victory for GSU (5-8, 1-3) and it was the Lady Eagles’ third consecutive victory.

A crowd of 475 watched as GSU sophomore guard MiMi DuBose drilled a fade-away 3-pointer, falling in front of the Lady Eagles’ bench, to give GSU a 51-46 lead with 1:49 to play.

Only 17 seconds later, GSU junior guard Ro-Ro Smith stole the ball from Wofford’s Rachel Brittenham. GSU junior guard Meredyth Frye was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. She made two of three free-throw attempts to put the Lady Eagles up, 53-46, with 1:02 remaining. Those key plays provided a critical cushion for GSU.

"That’s what we’ve been trying to find," Cram said. "That’s what this team has been lacking, people to stand up in crucial times. That’s part of the growing process. MiMi did hit a big one, because she really wasn’t hitting them, but she picked a great time to finish one.

"Ro just brings energy off the bench. She’s a sparkplug for us. She came off the bench and brought energy all night. Big minutes.

"It’s just different people on different nights right now. You know, we stress team and I thought we saw a great example of that in the game tonight."

GSU freshman forward Tashayla Steede came off the bench and scored 11 points, tying Frye for the team-high in scoring. DuBose finished with 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

"Tashayla Steede has not been playing a whole lot. She was sick the other night," Cram said. "She came off the bench tonight and gave us big, quality minutes. It’s hard to single people out because so many of them did a great job from a coach’s perspective."

Steede scored seven of her 11 points in the second half. GSU’s reserves outscored Wofford’s players off the bench, 20-8, in the game.

"It gives everyone a chance to breathe," Steede said of the importance of producing quality minutes off the bench. "(The starters) don’t feel like the pressure is all on them. Everybody else stepping up lets people know that they can trust their teammates."

Wofford was led by Daniella Motley, who scored a game-high 15 points. April Moorhouse added 12 points and Morgan Wrightson chipped in 11 points for the Terriers. The game was tied at 29 at halftime.

"But we hit that four- or five-minute lull where we didn’t score and they turned up their heat," Cram said of Wofford’s second-half rally. "But we knew they’re a very scrappy team, and they’re having their best year they’ve ever had, so we expected them to come in and I never thought it was going to be a 10- or 12-point game."

Beating Wofford (8-5, 1-3) could go a long way GSU, which Cram believes is finding its identity.

"They’re starting to get that expecting-to-win feeling," he said, "and that’s huge."

Monday’s game was the third in a five-game home stand for GSU. The Lady Eagles will play host to Samford at 3 p.m. Saturday and Chattanooga at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 in SoCon games.