When junior point guard Carolyn Whitney, a three-year starter for the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles, went down with an injury back in December, somebody had to take the reigns.

Sophomore Jamie Navarro had been minding her own business, coming off the bench to help her team get off to a quick 2-0 start in the Southern Conference by filling in when she was needed.

That all changed when she was called into the starting five — a role she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

“I was nervous at first,” Navarro said. “I was nervous of failing really and letting the team down. That’s really what went through my mind. But once I started playing, it was okay.”

Since becoming a starter at the point, Navarro is tops on the team with 40 steals, and is scoring 6.4 points per game.

When she scores, it counts.

After dropping contests against Kennesaw State and UNC Greensboro in her first two starts, Navarro turned things around. She helped the Lady Eagles win three out of the next four, including a victory over defending SoCon champion Chattanooga. The Lady Mocs saw a 27-game SoCon winning streak come undone at the hands of GSU’s new point guard.

It was Navarro who hit the game-winning shot.

That moment sent a message to the Eagles that she was for real.

“If there was any question mark at that point, it was settled,” said GSU coach Rusty Cram. “It takes a special athlete to step up in situations like that.”

Not only was it a marquee win for the Eagles – it was a turning point for Navarro.

“I thought it helped me just fit in and really be that starting point guard,” said the sophomore. “It was a huge win for us.”

The guard has shaken off the dust from the bench and started learning to become a trend setter. In GSU’s recent 67-62 win over Western Carolina, the Eagles were reeling. After watching a 51-37 lead disintegrate into a 55-54 margin, the Eagles needed a spark. They found it in the form of a Navarro 3 that kick started the game-deciding run.

“Jamie had been coming off the bench, but she had not been a trend setter, so to speak.” Cram said. “She had not been the one to cause runs or stop runs. The team is in her lap. Point guard is the toughest position on the court because they’re coaches on the floor. A lot more is expected out of them than any other position.”

She has learned to take her nervous energy she felt in December and thrive on it.

“It’s definitely more pressure than I was under before. It’s a lot,” Navarro said. “I definitely think that I play better when I’m under pressure than I did before. … I was expecting to be the sixth man off the bench, but now I’m starting so I’m really surprised it’s changed so much.”

Cram’s not surprised that his young guard has been successful. After Georgia Southern lost a number of scorers to graduation, he knew there would be some question marks heading into the season.

Whitney’s injury, although unexpected, is another opportunity for a younger player to shine.

To Cram, Navarro’s role change is no different from finding scorers after the graduation of key players after a successful season.

“I just kind of laughed (when asked at the beginning of the season who would be the team’s scorers) because we’ve been through this before,” said Cram. “You know there’s going to be people step up and surface, and new careers are made. That’s what happened this year. Jamie was one of those where the opportunity fell in her lap. She had to do something with it, and certainly she’s made the most of it.”

The plan for the end of the regular season is to finish strong and have a good position heading into the SoCon Tournament. Winning out will be no easy task, but the Eagles will play three of their last five at home, where they are 8-2.

“It’s going to be ‘the Drive for Five.’ It’s our theme,” Cram said. “That’s how many games we’ve got left in the regular season, and we’re going to take them one game at a time.”

The Lady Eagles start a three-game home stand against Furman Saturday at 3 p.m.

Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.