Photo by Andres Cruz
Georgia State took sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt Conference Saturday after defeating The University of Louisiana at Monroe (7-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) 77-66 on the road.
The Panthers have gradually turned their season around, winning four consecutive games despite being ranked No. 8 in the Sun Belt two weeks ago.
Before competing in a single game this season, the Panthers were underdogs coming off a 13-16 season, where they finished ninth in their last season in the Colonial Athletic Asssociation (CAA).
Georgia State (9-10, 5-2 Sun Belt) was picked eighth in the 2013-14 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
From early November to late December, the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Panthers went 4-8, including a 58-70 loss to then-No. 22 Georgia in the championship game of the Georgia State Invitational.
Giant Killers
On Jan. 14, Georgia State shocked the Sun Belt by defeating previously undefeated Sun Belt frontrunner Arkansas State 76-74 in Jonesboro, Ark.
“This was a great team win over a very good basketball team on its home court and it should give us a little confidence,” Head Coach Baldwin-Tener said to Georgia State Athletics. “Despite the 76-74 I think we played pretty good defense.”
The next game marked a new challenge for the Panthers as they faced Sun Belt preseason No. 1 University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) on Jan. 14.
Georgia State found themselves in a familiar position, playing from behind. UALR led by seven points with 3:25 left in the game.
“We talked in the timeout… I told them we got plenty of time if we just get some stops, get rebounds and quit fouling taking them to the line,” Head Coach Baldwin-Tener said.
“We’re used to being in tight games and have a lot of confidence down the stretch,” Baldwin-Tener said.
With aggressive defense, the Panthers won 61-59 after a clutch shot within the final two seconds from sophomore guard Gaby Moss.
“[Moss is] not necessarily our best rebounder so I thought that’s pretty big,” Baldwin-Tener said. “I thought we were pretty aggressive and we wanted to win this basketball game and we made a play down the stretch.”
Filling the void
Redshirt-junior guard Alisha Andrews filled a leadership gap in the team after last year’s leader Cody Paulk graduated from Georgia State along with two other seniors.
Andrews finally made her debut this season after being denied her hardship waiver to play last season when transferring from North Carolina-Wilmington.
The new addition to the team worked out for the better for Georgia State as they ranked fourth in the Sun Belt, averaging 12.79 assists per game.
Andrews currently leads the Sun Belt in assists, averaging 4.8 per game. Senior guard Kendra Long is eighth in the conference averaging 2.9 assists per game.
The Panthers are fifth in the Sun Belt for scoring offense, averaging 67.8 points per game.
Kendra Long leads the team with 14.6 points per game, totaling 102 points for the season.
The Panthers will try to extend their winning streak Wednesday against South Alabama at 7 p.m. at home.
*For recaps of the Lady Panthers’ two game Louisiana road trip against Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe, visit georgiastatesignal.com*
