After losing seven of its previous eight matchups, Georgia State women’s basketball was victorious on Thursday night with an emphatic 82-54 victory over Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern. The win improves the Panthers’ record to 9-12 and 4-8 in the conference.
Instrumental in the victory were the performances of Makeba Ponder and Alisha Andrews. Ponder scored 20 points in her first game back after suffering from concussion. Andrews had 16 points and five assists.
First Half
Georgia State cracked the scoreboard first with a two-point jump shot from Gaby Moss. Sophomore forward for the Eagles Patrice Butler, quickly responded to tie the game up at two early.
Two more points by Moss along with a three from Alisha Andrews gave the Panthers a 7-2 lead. Sophomore guard Andrews trimmed the Georgia Southern deficit to three at 7-4.
The Panthers extended their lead to 18 with a 15-0 run making it a 22-4 game. Georgia State also scored three more from Moss, Andrews and Ponder and a two-point jumper by Ashley Watson.
Georgia Southern would then score four from McGowan closing their deficit to within 22-8. Brittany Logan scored her first pair of points in her return from a suspension made the lead 16 at 24-8.
With the score at 26-10 in the Panthers’ favor, another three by Ponder expanded the lead to 29-10.
The Panthers’ lead then became 31-12 before a layup by Butler and a three-pointer from McGowan brought Georgia Southern within 31-17.
Freshman guard Alexis Foulks was charged with a foul against Moss, who made two free throws bringing a 33-17 score. The Eagles then went on a 7-0 run that included five from McGowan and another two by senior guard Anna Claire Knight, bringing the Eagles within nine at 33-24.
Six more points from Ponder along with two from Haley Gerrin produced an 8-0 Georgia State run as the lead increased back to 17 at 41-24 heading into halftime.
Second Half
The Panthers picked up where they left off as four consecutive points from Nichols upped their lead to 45-24. A Butler layup was quickly followed by another three from Andrews as the lead became 48-26 for the Panthers. Three more points courtesy of Nichols made it a 51-26 game.
Gerrin then fouled Butler who made one of two from the line. Another Andrews three-pointer increased the Georgia State lead to 54-27.
The Panthers would maintain their 27-point lead with scores of 56-29 and 58-31. McGowan’s fifteenth and sixteenth points along with Butler’s eleventh made it a 58-34 game before Ponder increased her point total to 18 as the Panthers took a 60-34 lead.
A layup from Miranda Smith was followed by a three-points shot by Knight as the score became 62-37 in the Panthers’ favor.
Logan made one free throw after a foul by sophomore forward Jessica Marcus. McGowan’s following layup made it a 63-39 game.
A three from Foulks along with a layup from Butler made it a 63-44 game before Andrews increased her point total to 16 with her next two-pointer to make it 65-44.
A lead of 67-46 for the Panthers became 72-46 with three more by Gerrin and a layup from Kayla Nolan.
Shortly afterwards, Nichols fouled sophomore guard Alexis Sams, who made one of two from the line. Two more points each from Ponder and Nolan increased Georgia State’s dominant lead to 29 at 76-47.
The Eagles would score two more points each from McGowan and Butler to get within 76-51
.
Two more each from Nolan, Watson and Mariam Hannoun made it an 82-51 game. Freshman Eagles guard Trellanie English-Lurry made a three with eight seconds left to make the score 82-54 as it would remain so as time expired.
The Panthers return to the hardwood on Saturday at 3 p.m. in South Alabama
| Georgia State | Georgia Southern |
|---|---|
| Ponder: 20 points, 8-13 shooting | Andrews: 16 points, five assists |
| McGowan: 20 points, 7-15 shooting | Butler: 15 points, 7-10 shooting |
