A key four-point play from Georgia State women's basketball midway through the fourth quarter helped the Panthers to a 74-66 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over host Georgia Southern on Wednesday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Panthers (11-7, 5-3 SBC) halted a four-game slide to the Eagles (13-7, 3-5 SBC) in the series while also handing Georgia Southern its fourth straight loss this year.
The score was tied at the end of each period heading into the pivotal fourth quarter. The two teams were tied at 20-all at the end of the first, then a defensive-minded second quarter saw each team notch just 12 points for the 32-all halftime score.
The Eagles held a 51-47 lead with just under a minute to go in the third, but baskets by Mikyla Tolivert and Deasia Merrill tied things up at 51-all going into the fourth. With the Eagles leading by two, 55-53, two minutes into the fourth, Georgia State's Tolivert hit another basket to tie things up, then after a missed shot by the Eagles, Crystal Henderson knocked down a three-pointer in the corner and converted the free throw to put Georgia State up by four, 59-55, with 6:58 left.
Georgia State stretched that lead to eight, 69-61, with 1:18 left, but a quick three by Terren Ward and a steal, followed by a Constance Thomas layup made it a three-point game, 69-66, with 27 seconds left. Georgia State then clinched the win by going 5-for-6 from the line in the final 27 seconds.
Terren Ward led the Eagles on the night with 19 points, while Shy Booker added 13 points. Henderson led all scorers on the night for the Panthers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three.
Eagle of the Game
Booker tied her Georgia Southern career high with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding a free throw, while also collecting nine rebounds and adding an assist.
Stats of the Game
The Eagles were outrebounded by the Panthers by one, 43-42. It's the fourth straight game in which Georgia Southern has been outrebounded, which has not happened since the 2018-19 season.
Quotables
Head coach Anita Howard on her message to the team after tonight's game against Georgia State
"We've got to continue to learn in our losses. Everything we're talking about in practice, we're seeing in games. Our pace of play has slowed down, our rebounding and our intensity and right now it's simply effort. It's hard to keep your mind locked in when you're on a losing streak and it's something that we're not used to. We've got to be able to snap out it, which I think we will, but we've got to learn from tonight's loss."
Next Up
Georgia Southern hosts first-place Marshall on Saturday, January 27, in a 2 p.m. Sun Belt Conference matchup at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles will be hosting a Kids Clinic 30 minutes following the game against the Thundering Herd.
