The Georgia Southern women’s basketball team is coming off a 16-18 record in year one under head coach Hana Haden.
The Eagles came out of the gates strong last season with a 5-1 record, but struggled to a 6-12 Sun Belt mark. The Eagles did win two games in the Sun Belt tournament before finally falling to Georgia State.
Hopes are high for the 2025-26 season as the Eagles return four players with experience at Georgia Southern, and now has a roster full of newcomers with size and shooting that Haden thinks with click quickly.
“I feel like our first year actually ended on a strong note as we won seven of our last 11 games,” Haden said. “We have four returners but the rest will be newcomers. I feel like we have to come out strong and get our identity established early on. Every game is important in the Sun Belt and we don’t want to have to get in a hole.”
In putting this year’s team together, Haden believes they addressed deficiencies in shooting and defending.
“We wanted to be able to shoot the three better, defend the three better and take better care of the ball,” Haden said. “Those were troublesome areas for us last year and we feel like we brought in players to help in those three areas. We went 10-26 from three in our scrimmage recently and I am hoping we will continue to shoot the ball well. We also pressed a lot and we plan on playing faster.”
Haden also thinks getting a year under her belt as a Division I coach was important last year and is much more confident going into her second season.
“Our staff has been together for a year and we know each other’s strengths,” Haden said. “Being my first year as a Division 1 coach I had been used to doing so much myself and now I am much better at sharing the responsibilities. This year we are kind of going the football route of offense, defense and special teams. Having four players returning with playing experience will also really help us in year two.”
The Eagles open the season Monday at 6 p.m. at home against Central Michigan. They will then travel to Florida State before returning a week from Sunday when they will host No. 5 ranked LSU in a 2 p.m. tipoff.
