‘Just get the ball to Daeja’
Georgia Southern falls short despite 18-point effort from freshman Holmes
STATESBORO — Answering questions in one of her first media sessions, Daeja Holmes fought back her emotions each time she opened her mouth. There sat Holmes, a 5-foot-9 embodiment of both heart and heartbreak.
With each answer, her voice quivered and she counted down the seconds to where she could go home for the night.
It’s not common for freshmen to have the night she had with the responsibility she had.
In a 59-58 loss to South Alabama, Georgia Southern’s freshman guard went 5-for-9 for 18 points, had three rebounds, made all four of her free throws and was trusted to make two game-winning shots.
She made the first one, draining a three with confidence from the right arc as the clock went to nine seconds to give the Eagles a one-point lead. She missed the second one, fighting through contact to try and heave a long two-point attempt.
Despite all the good she had done and the role she played in 23 minutes off the bench, Holmes was hung up on the missed shot and the result of a loss more than anything.
“It’s good and all, but we didn’t come up with the W,” Holmes said. “There’s things that we need to clean up. 18 doesn't really matter since we didn’t win.”
In the freshman’s eyes, losing is the big deal. The loss is GS’ fourth-straight.
But in the bigger picture, the effort will last longer than the result of Friday night’s conference game.
“For her to have nerves of steel, come into the game and shoot the three and knock it down was really clutch,” GS head coach Anita Howard said. “I know she was upset after the second shot she took at the end of the game. Those are moments that when you put her in, she’s up for the moment. Michael Jordan always says you never know if you’re up for the moment if you never take that shot. She was up for it. That last shot she missed or she didn’t get the foul, but she’ll be in that position again and she’ll finish it.”
Holmes’ last shot came with one-second remaining. On the stat sheet, Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Antoinette Lewis made the block. Howard and the Eagles argued for a foul.
But at the end of the day, the arguing did no good.
“We didn’t have a name (for the last play), just get the ball to Daeja,” Holmes said. “I wanted to be the one to step up and help out.”
Michael Jordan missed shots. Howard didn’t compare Holmes to Jordan, but the end-goal is the same: win.
And Holmes’ performance didn’t come out of charity, but out of necessity.
The game began with the Jaguars going on a 4-0 run. Howard pulled all five starters. Down 6-0, Holmes entered the game.
Drained a three-pointer. USA responded with a jumper.
So Holmes hit another three. Lewis missed both free throws and Shondell Vickers went down to bury another three to give GS a 9-8 lead.
From that point on, Holmes commanded the team. On a night where team-leaders A’Tyanna Gaulden and Vickers shot a combined 4-for-14 from the field, Holmes was on.
“She improved a lot (from preseason to now),” senior Sarah Moore said. “She started off a little shaky in the beginning, but she has grown to be a great player. I’m really proud of her. She’s not even at the top of her game.”
The Eagles’ largest lead came in the third quarter amidst a 6-0 run forged by a suffocating press. Junior Jordan Strange picked up a steal and passed it to freshman Simone James, who finished the play with a layup to make it 44-36 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
GS’ press worked and set up the 6-0 run in 23 seconds. It frustrated the Jaguars, whose size and speed hurt the Eagles in the beginning of the game.
It worked against Appalachian State two weeks before as well.
So why not run it the whole game?
“Coach Howard likes to switch things up,” Moore said. “She doesn’t want to just stay in the press because a lot of teams can break press easily if you keep doing the same things. So she wants to switch things up on each team.”
Howard, who multiple times put the blame of the loss on herself, commended her team’s press. With different pressing groups, Howard wants teams to keep guessing. One group in particular was the “CEO of that press.”
“Probably should have put them back in later on,” Howard said. “I thought South Alabama got a little too comfortable, but that’s something that as the head coach you have to have a feel for the game. I probably went away from it too soon. You’ll probably see more of it tomorrow.”
The Eagles, unlike in years past, competed until the clock hit zero. There was disappointment and players looking back at the scoreboard. In the locker room, Howard said she saw a room of girls that want to get back out and try again.
“I just tell them that we have the next one,” Moore said. “We battled til the end. We’re too good not to get the next one.”
Other news and notes
Moore had a season-high eight rebounds to go along with her two points, two assists and two steals.
“Eight is okay,” Moore said. “I could have done a lot better. I was just going for it pretty much.”
As a team, the Eagles came down with 40 total rebounds, 15 of them offensive. Still, USA finished with 43 boards.
“We knew we had to try and out rebound them,” Howard said. “That’s one of the keys to the game that we fell short of.”
GS went 7-for-18 from beyond the arc. That 38.9% is the team’s second-best in Sun Belt play this season.
Out of town brief
In Mobile, the GS men’s team escaped USA in overtime, 84-75. The Eagles had a 15-point lead in the final five minutes. GS shot a season-high 53.8% from three, making 14. Gedi Juozapaitis led the Eagles in scoring with 18.
What’s next?
WBB (6-8;2-5) Saturday vs South Alabama (8-5;5-2) 4 p.m. ET
MBB (10-6;4-3) Saturday at South Alabama (8-8;2-5) 5 p.m. ET