Georgia Southern post players Briana Jones, Danielle Spencer and Sierra Kirkland combined for 33 points and 29 rebounds, and the Eagles never trailed en route to a 63-50 women’s basketball victory over Jacksonville State in their home opener Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.
    Jones and Spencer each posted double-doubles for the Eagles (1-2) with Jones collecting 13 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Spencer added 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Kirkland collected eight points, all in the second half, and three rebounds. Anna Claire Knight contributed 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
    Candace Morton led Jacksonville State (0-3) with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Miranda Cantrell tallied 12 points and 10 boards.
    Georgia Southern held the Gamecocks to 27.5 percent shooting for the game while posting a 42.6 percentage on their offensive end.
    The Eagles jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game with the aid of consecutive 3-pointers by Knight and Angel McGowan. Georgia Southern pushed the lead to 10 points before Morton scored four points in a 6-0 Gamecock run. The Eagles answered with a 15-4 spurt to open a 15-point advantage. McGowan ignited the run with a triple, and MiMi DuBose scored five points during the stretch as the Eagles went into the break with a 35-20 lead.
    Jacksonville State trimmed the margin to 39-30 with an 8-2 run early in the second frame, but a 14-3 Georgia Southern run pushed the margin to 18 points. Jones, Spencer and Kirkland had all 14 points during the stretch.

“We talk about getting better every day, and I feel like we did that today,” said Georgia Southern coach Chris Vozab. “We talked at halftime about dominating the boards and getting the loose balls in the second half, and I thought we did that. We executed the adjustments we made, and answered every run they made at us.”