DeLand, Fla. -- Right from start, Brianti Saunders appeared destined to have a special night. The Hatter junior reached double figures in just five minutes, she had 14 points by the end of the first quarter, and she knocked down her first eight shots from the floor.
In the end, Saunders scored a school-record 40 points, breaking a mark that had stood for 29 years, as Stetson defeated visiting Georgia Southern 79-57 Sunday afternoon in the first day of the 2015 Hatter Classic.
Saunders 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 Dieidre 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," Saunders said. "Coach (Bria) told us to go in to the game and be aggressive. We knew it was going to be an important game, especially going into the Christmas break."
"It was one of the best performances I have ever seen in women's college basketball," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "It was absolutely outstanding. 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."
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. She also picked up five assists.
"I thought Bey had a great game," Bria said. "When you can get a double-double and five assists, that is a complete game. She did a great job on the glass and grabbed some key defensive rebounds that we really needed."
Saunders, who shattered her previous career-high of 33 points, got more than her fair share of handshakes and hugs from the Edmunds Center crowd after the game, 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."
The Hatters will face Georgia State (4-4) at 1 p.m. Monday. The Panthers defeated Bethune-Cookman 68-61 in the second Hatter Classic game on Sunday.
Notes: 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 ... Saunders' season scoring average jumped from 16.7 to 18.8 ... 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 ... Saunders is just the eighth player in the NCAA to score 40 points in a game this season.
