ATLANTA (Dec. 29, 2006) ? Sophomore center Marcquitta Head (Conley, Ga.) recorded her seventh career double-double with a season-high 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and senior guard Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added a season-best and game-high 23 points to lead Georgia State to an 82-58 victory over visiting Mississippi Valley State in game one of the Georgia State University Invitational, held Friday at the Georgia State Sports Arena.

Georgia State advances to its eighth straight Georgia State University Invitational championship final. The Panthers will take on Tennessee-Martin, which defeated Birmingham-Southern 74-57 in game two of Friday's doubleheader. Georgia State is seeking its third crown in four years and eighth overall in the history of the event.

The Panthers (7-4) have won four straight and seven of their last eight after a 0-3 start. Freshman forward Danyiell McKeller (Fayetteville, N.C.) registered 13 points and collected eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Brittany Hollins (Columbia, S.C.) posted 11 points and a game-high nine assists. Georgia State improves to 7-0 on the season when three or more players score in double figures.

Portia Wilson came off the bench to lead Mississippi Valley State (2-6) with 18 points. The Devilettes have dropped six consecutive contests.

Georgia State never trailed and opened up a 17-6 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The margin ballooned to a first-half high of 18 points, 44-26 with 2:40 on the clock after a layup from Roegiers-Jensen. The Panthers settled for a 48-31 halftime advantage after shooting 55 percent from the floor in the half and making 9-of-10 free throws.

Leading by 20 in the second period, 68-48 with 10:37 left in the game, McKeller made the front-end of a 1-and-1 to ignite a 10-0 Panthers' run. Roegiers-Jensen capped the spurt with another layup with 6:48 remaining to give Georgia State its biggest lead of the contest, 78-48.

Georgia State made 54 percent of its field goals and held Mississippi Valley State to 37 percent. The Panthers out rebounded the Devilettes 45-33. Georgia State recorded a season-high 27 assists in the contest and shot 73 percent from the charity stripe.

Tennessee-Martin defeated Birmingham-Southern 74-57 in game two of the Georgia State Invitational. Forward Phyllisha Mitchell led three UT-Martin (6-4) players in double figures with a game-high 16 points. She also added a game-best seven rebounds. Forward Andreika Jackson collected 12 and Victoria Carlile posted 11. Reba Ross led Birmingham-Southern (4-8) with 14 points.

Birmingham-Southern will face Mississippi Valley State at 2 p.m. Saturday in the consolation game of the Georgia State University Invitational. The championship game pits Georgia State against UT-Martin at 4 p.m.

Box Scores

Mississippi Valley State (2-6) -- 31-27=58

Georgia State (7-4) ? 48-34=82

Birmingham-Southern (4-8) -- 27-30=57