STATESBORO, Ga. – The South Carolina State women's basketball team fell 74-58 to Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse on Thursday afternoon.

Bryeasha Blair led the Lady Bulldogs (3-7) on both sides of the ball with 15 points and nine rebounds. JaQuanna Murray and Jahmia Bradley also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. They each grabbed four rebounds.

Georgia Southern (4-7) started the game on an 8-0 run and led 26-15 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Bulldogs went on a run of their own to start the second period. A layup by Murray at the 6:28 mark capped a 9-2 SC State run that cut the Lady Bulldogs' deficit to just four points (28-24). The Eagles turned up the defense in the last four minutes of the first half and went into halftime ahead by 12, 42-30.

The Eagles maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half and led by as many as 20 (71-51) in the final two minutes of the game.

Georgia Southern shot 37.3 percent (25-of-69) for the game from the field and made 19 of its 24 free throw attempts. SC State went 23-for 54 from the field and took just five free throws, making them all.

Patrice Butler led Georgia Southern with 21 points and a team-high-tying seven boards. Sierra Butler also had seven rebounds and added three points and three steals. Angel McGowan and Amira Atwater finished with 13 and 10 points respectively.

For SC State, Schekina Bimpa had five rebounds and two points off the bench.

The Lady Bulldogs break for the Christmas holiday and return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 in a 2 p.m. game against the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.