On Saturday afternoon at the Sports Arena, Georgia State women’s basketball earned its fourth win in its last five games with an 80-70 over the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The Panthers’ record now stands at 12-13 and 7-9 in the Sun Belt.
First Half
The Panthers began the first half with possession, resulting in the first basket of the game via a Kennesha Nichols layup, giving Georgia State an early 2-0 lead. Senior forward Maryah Sydnor responded with a two-pointer to tie the game.
Nichols would increase her point total to four, reclaiming the lead for the Panthers at 4-2 before junior App State guard Farrahn Wood made a three-pointer for a 5-4 Mountaineers lead.
Gaby Moss’ first three points of the game made it a 7-5 game in favor of Georgia State, then nine seconds later, Sydnor increased her point total to four, tying the two teams up at seven.
The Panthers and Mountaineers would remain tied at nine apiece, then later tied at 11. Georgia State then embarked on an 8-0 run with four points from Brittany Logan, two from Moss, and two by Alisha Andrews, contributing to a 19-11 Panthers lead.
Sophomore guard Joi Jones scored five of her own, closing the Mountaineers’ gap to 19-16. The Panthers answered with seven straight points, five of them coming from Makeba Ponder and the two other coming off a Nichols layup, extending the Georgia State lead to 26-16.
A layup from sophomore Appalachian State guard Bria Carter drew the Mountaineers within eight at 26-18.
The Panthers maintained their eight-point advantage with scores of 28-20, 30-22, 32-24 and 34-26. A layup from Logan increased her point total to eight, increasing the Georgia State advantage to 10 at 36-26 before a three from Wood, drew App State closer at 36-29.
Sophomore center Mia Marshall would foul Logan who made a pair of free throws, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 38-29. Freshman guard Katelyn Doub later made her first three of the game and junior center KeKe Cooper made a pair of free throws, drawing Appalachian State within four at 38-34.
Twelve seconds later, Moss point total grew to 15, expanding the Georgia State lead to 40-34.
With the score at 42-36 in the Panthers’ two more by Cooper closed the gap to 42-38 before Ponder scored her fifth and sixth points, increasing the Panthers’ lead to 44-38 at the half.
Second Half
A layup by Sydnor drew App State within four at 44-40, but two more by Watson made it a six-point game again. A three from Wood closed the gap to three at 46-43 before Watson’s third and fourth points of the half made it 48-43.
With the scoreboard reading 50-45, another three from Moss increased her point total to 18 and the Georgia State lead to eight at 53-45. Haley Gerrin was later charged with a foul against Sydnor who made foul shot, making the score 53-46.
Georgia State later maintained its seven-point advantage with scores of 55-48, and 57-50 before an open three by Sydnor increased her point output to 14, producing a score of 57-53.
Miranda Smith later fouled freshman guard Madi Story, then she made two free throws, making the score 57-55. Logan briefly extended the Panthers’ lead to 59-55 before a 7-0 Appalachian State run with five from Sydnor and two by Cooper placed the Mountaineers in front, 62-59.
Georgia State would later reclaim the lead with a 6-0 run, all six-points coming by way of Nichols, producing a three point, 65-62 lead with under four minutes remaining. Two more points by Logan and Andrews made it a 69-62 game.
Cooper made one free throw after being fouled by Logan, then the Panthers got four more points by Andrews along with three more from Ponder and two more by Nichols, growing the Georgia State lead to fifteen at 78-63.
A three from Doub got App State within 12 at 78-66. Ponder later made one free throw after a foul charged to Doub, extending the Georgia State lead to 13 at 79-66.
Jones responded with a layup after grabbing an offensive rebound, cutting the deficit for the Mountaineers to 79-68. Andrews made it an 80-68 game after a free throw that came after a foul by Jones.
Appalachian State converted a Panthers turnover into points with a layup by Sydnor. Two seconds later, the Panthers had earned their fourth victory in their last five games.
The Panthers will take the court on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on the road at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock [UALR].
| Georgia State | Appalachian State |
|---|---|
| Moss: 18 points, 8-11 shooting | Logan: 18 points, 6-7 shooting |
| Sydnor: 21 points, 8-13 shooting | Marshall: 10 points |
