Breaks single-game scoring record that stood for 29 years & spanning 842 games
Saunders broke the single-game scoring record, which had stood for 29 years, as she went went 12-for-16 from the field, 4-for-6 from behind the arc, and 12-for-13 from the free throw line to surpass Deidre Hillery's mark of 39 points set against Georgia State on Jan. 17, 1987. It was a record that had stood for 842 games.
"I am honored but I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Saunders, who shattered her previous career-high of 33 points.
She got more than her fair share of handshakes and hugs from the Edmunds Center crowd when thew final buzzer sounded, including some love from her parents and her 3-year old sister.
"It was great; I missed them so much," Saunders said about having her family on-hand Sunday. "I was so happy that they could see me play a good game."
Brianti Saunders broke the Stetson University women's single-game scoring record, which had stood for 29 years, as she went went 12-for-16 from the field, 4-for-6 from behind the arc, and 12-for-13 from the free throw line to surpass Deidre Hillery's mark of 39 points set against Georgia State on Jan. 17, 1987. It was a record that had stood for 842 games.
"I am honored but I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Saunders, who shattered her previous career-high of 33 points. She got more than her fair share of handshakes and hugs from the Edmunds Center crowd when the final buzzer sounded, including some love from her parents and her 3-year old sister, shown at left.
Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said Saunders' performance was among the best she has seen in women's college basketball.
"It was absolutely outstanding," Bria said. "Some of the moves she had in the first half were incredible. Then she had eight rebounds on top of that. I am really proud of her."
Saunders is just the eighth player in the NCAA to score 40 points in a game this season.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Hatters, who improved to 8-3 overall and 5-0 at home. Georgia Southern fell to 3-5.
Breana Bey posted her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Bey also picked up five assists.
Bethune-Cookman loses
The Hatters will face Georgia State (4-4) at 1 p.m. today. The Panthers defeated Bethune-Cookman 68-61 in the second Hatter Classic game on Sunday.
Game Notebook:
• Stetson has won five in a row overall, eight in row in the month of December, 11 in a row at the Hatter Classic. and 28 straight regular-season non-conference games at home.
• Brianti Saunders' season scoring average jumped from 16.7 to 18.8, with her record-breaking 40 point performance. Her career average jumped from 13.8 to 14.2. She has scored in double figures in 12 straight games. Her four 3-pointers tied a career-high. She had 21 points at halftime, 30 at the end of three quarters, but it was two free throws with under two minutes remaining that broke the record. It was the highest scoring total by any A-Sun player in four seasons.