ATLANTA - Junior Tatum Barber's three-pointer with 22.3 seconds snapped a 70-all tie and propelled Georgia Southern women's basketball into the 2020 Sun Belt Conference tournament with a 77-74 victory over host Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta.
The Eagles improve to 10-19 overall and 7-11 in the Sun Belt, while Georgia State ends its season at 8-21 overall and 5-13 in the league. Georgia Southern will now travel to a site to be announced later tonight for first-round tournament action on Tuesday, March 10.
Georgia Southern took a 19-15 lead in the first quarter, thanks in large part to senior Amira Atwater coming off the bench and delivering four assists - breaking the all-time assist record with her 420th career assist. She broke the record of 419, set by Danna Simpson (1998-2002).
The Eagles took a three-point lead into halftime, 37-34, then extended that lead to 10 points, 57-47, at the end of the third quarter.
Georgia State rallied late in the fourth quarter, eventually using back-to-back fastbreak layups by Tehya Lyons to tie the game at 70-all with 44 seconds left.
Georgia Southern head coach Anita Howard called time out, and on the next possession, the Eagles got a pair of offensive rebounds before Barber sprung free on the left wing and drilled her tie-breaking three-pointer to give the Eagles the lead.
Taylor Henderson missed a jumper on the next possession for Georgia State, and Georgia Southern then went 4-for-4 from the line in the final 12 seconds to clinch the victory.
Barber and Hailey Dias-Allen each ended up with 16 points to lead five Eagles in double figures. Nikki McDonald registered her fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Amira Atwater and Alexis Brown each chipped in 10.
The Eagles will travel to Lafayette, Louisiana, and will take on fourth-seeded Louisiana on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at the Cajundome. The other two teams the Ragin' Cajuns are hosting - No. 5 seed Little Rock and No. 6-seed Appalachian State - will play at 4 p.m. The winners of both games will then play on Wednesday at 8 p.m., for a berth into the 2020 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Final Four, which will take place in New Orleans on March 14-15.
Georgia Southern advances to the tournament after a year hiatus - the last time the Eagles played in the tournament, it was the 2018 Sun Belt First Round when the then-No. 11-seeded Eagles matched up against No. 6 Louisiana and lost an 88-81 triple overtime decision to the Ragin' Cajuns.
Tickets go on sale from the Cajundome box office on Monday and can be purchased for $10. For more information, contact the box office at 337-265-2170.
Below is the complete bracket for the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
2020 SUN BELT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round at Campus Sites
Tuesday, March 10
Game 1 – No. 5 Little Rock vs. No. 8 Appalachian State • Lafayette, La. (ESPN+), 4 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 9 Georgia Southern at No. 4 Louisiana • Lafayette, La. (ESPN+), 8 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 10 Texas State at No. 3 UTA • Arlington, Texas (ESPN+), 7 p.m.
Game 4 – No. 6 South Alabama vs. No. 7 Arkansas State • Arlington, Texas (ESPN+), 9:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals at Campus Sites
Wednesday, March 11
Game 5 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner • Lafayette, La. (ESPN+), 8 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner • Arlington, Texas (ESPN+), 8 p.m.
Semifinals at Smoothie King Center
Saturday, March 14
Game 7 – Game 5 Winner vs. No. 1 Troy (ESPN+), 6 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. No. 2 Coastal Carolina (ESPN+), 8:30 p.m.
Championship Game at Smoothie King Center
Sunday, March 15
Game 9 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN3), 7 p.m.
