The Thanksgiving Tournament at the Sports Arena ended in a tough loss for Georgia State women’s basketball against the Liberty Flames by a final of 73˗71.
Alisha Andrews got the scoring started for the Panthers before a jumper courtesy of Ashley Rininger tied Liberty up at two apiece.
Georgia State then embarked on a 4˗0 run with two points each coming from Haley Gerrin and Gaby Moss for a 6˗2 lead before Liberty’s Simone Brown and Sadalia Ellis placed five consecutive points to gain the lead at 7˗6.
The Flames would maintain their one point advantage later in the first half at 9˗8 and a Brown free throw off a foul from Brittany Logan would make the score 10˗8 prior to the first media timeout of the game.
Off the timeout, a three˗pointer from Kayla Nolan gave the Panthers a short lived 11˗10 lead prior to Liberty’s Karly Buer answering with an arc that gave the Flames a 13˗11 advantage.
Three˗pointers from Ashlee Cole and Makeba Ponder would connect as Georgia State pulled ahead by a score of 17˗13. A jumper from Jasmine Gardner trimmed the Liberty deficit to 17˗15 before the Panthers made their third straight three when Morgan Jackson connected from behind the arc for a 20˗15 Panthers edge.
Two˗point buckets from Gardner and Brown brought the Flames within one before Jackson upped her point total to four for a 22˗19 score. Buer, Brown, and Katelyn Adams paced Liberty to a 6˗0 as they took a 25˗22 lead.
The Flames maintained their three point advantage at 27˗24, but Georgia State would close within one at 29˗28 with four points from Kennesha Nichols. A Rininger layup upped the Liberty point total to 29. The Flames then went on a 6˗0 run that included baskets from Buer, Catherine Kearney, and Elle Rollins to expand their lead to seven at 35˗28 before Andrews drained a three with three seconds left to bring the score to 35˗31 at halftime.
Both teams would exchange four consecutive points of the second half as the lead for Liberty became 39˗35. With the tally at 40˗36, Nolan was fouled by Candice Leatherwood and made both free throws to bring the score to 40˗38 before a Buer jumper made the Flames’ lead four again at 45˗41.
With the score 47˗43 in favor of Liberty, Cole drained another three to bring Georgia State within one at 47˗46. Kearney then made a couple of shots in the paint to bring the Flames’ advantage to 51˗46.
This lead would then become 53˗48, 55˗50, then 57˗52 as the flames and Panthers continued to trade points. With the score at 59˗54 with Liberty leading, a layup from Nichols closed the Georgia State deficit to 59˗56 before Nolan was called for a foul on Rininger. She would then make one of two free throws to bring the score to 60˗56.
Liberty would then convert a Logan turnover into three offensive rebounds and a Rininger two˗pointer for a 62˗56 score. Brown then fouled Miranda Smith to send her to the line as she made one of two free throws to make the score 62˗57. A Frazier layup would extend the Flames’ advantage to 64˗57.
Andrews and Ellis would then be fouled which would result in both making both of their shots from the line. The score became 66˗59. Nolan then made two more foul shots after being fouled Jasmine Gardner. Andrews would then be fouled by Gardner as well, as she would make one of two from the line to close the deficit to 66˗62.
The fouls would be followed by a seven second sequence in which Nolan stole the basketball from Ellis before turning it over later. Frazier then gave the ball right back to the Panthers as they began utilizing a full court press.
With just over three minutes to play, a three from Andrews cut the Georgia State deficit to 66˗65. Ellis was then fouled by Smith which translated into her making both free throws. Cole’s fourth three of the game tied the game at 68˗68.
Buer then connected on a two˗pointer with under two minutes left to make the score 70˗68 with Liberty leading again. After a missed three attempt by Makeba Ponder, Ellis would be fouled on the next two Flames possessions. She made both free throws then made one of two on the second occasion.
The score was 73˗68 before Ponder would make a three with three seconds left to bring Georgia State within 73˗71. The Panthers then fouled Ellis which placed her at the line. She made one of two free throws before a Rininger rebound clinched the Thanksgiving Tournament for the Flames.
The Panthers will be back in action Wednesday at the Sports Arena as they take on Kennesaw State at 7 p.m.
| Georgia State | Liberty |
|---|---|
| Nolan: 13 points | Andrews: 13 points, 6 assists |
| Ellis: 15 points, 5 rebounds | Buer: 15 points, 5 rebounds |
Both Nolan and Andrews were named to the all tournament team.
