Cunningham Puts Up Game High 19 Points in Loss Against GA Southern

STATESBORO, GA - The Chicago State women's basketball faced off against the GA Southern Eagles and suffered a 93-71 loss.

Freshman Jacia Cunningham scored a game-high 19 points, while Tae'lor Willard added 13 and Janiah Newell tallied 10.

First Quarter - Chicago State 18, GA Southern 17

• The Cougars opened up the scoring with a 5-2 run featuring beautiful turnaround jumper from Josie Hill and a trey from Jacia Cunningham
• However, the Eagles quickly retaliated with a 6-0 run to lead by three at 8-5
• Fortunately, the Cougars managed a jumper from Cunningham and one free throw made at the charity stripe to lead by one at 9-8
• Nonetheless, the Eagles then executed another run, this one at 8-0, to stun Chicago State and lead 16-9
• Luckily, Chicago State finished off the quarter with a 9-1 run deuces from Taylor Willard and Yzabelle Tevao to lead 18-17 after the first

Second Quarter - GA Southern 39, Chicago State 34

• The Eagles opened up the scoring this time with a deuce to now lead 19-18
• The Cougars came right back down and executed a 6-2 rally as Willard hit two treys to retake the lead at 24-21
• However, the Eagles suddenly went on a 10-3 run which gave them a lead at 31-27
• GA Southern finished the half with a 4-0 run and led 39-34

Third Quarter - GA Southern 67, Chicago State 48

• The Eagles began with a 5-0 run to stun the Cougars and extend their lead to 44-34
• Chicago State then scored three straight as Ahlea Myers made two at the charity stripe and Taylor Norris sank a two
• Nonetheless, the Eagles continued their runs and this time executed a 6-0 one and now led 50-38
• Ultimately, the Eagles outscored Chicago State 28-14 throughout the quarter and gained comfort heading into the fourth with a 67-48 lead

Fourth Quarter - GA Southern 93, Chicago State 71

• The Eagles kicked it off with a deuce to maintain their lead 69-48
• Chicago State answered right back with a deuce from Hill
• The Cougar and Eagles then went on a stretch of back-and-forth scoring which ultimately gifted the Eagles the win with a comfortable final score of 93-71

The Cougars next take on the University of Minnesota on December 12th in Minneapolis, MN at 7 P.M.

About Chicago State

Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.

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