ATLANTA (Feb. 9, 2007) ? In the battle for fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association regular season standings there is little room for error heading into the final six league games.
Georgia State's women's basketball team knows this all to well as the Panthers host Towson Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Georgia State Sports Arena. The Panthers, who will be looking for the regular season sweep of the Tigers, have their eyes set on moving up the tightly packed league standings with a victory Sunday. The top four teams in the final regular season standings receive first-round byes into the quarterfinals.
Sunday's game will be broadcast live over the Internet at GeorgiaStateSports.com and www.wras.org and on the radio at WRAS-FM (88.5) in Atlanta. Live stats and live audio/video of the game can also be found on GeorgiaStateSports.com. The contest will also feature several former women's Panthers' student-athletes in attendance as part of Georgia State's 2007 Homecoming festivities titled "TRUE BLUE: 94 years of Pride and Tradition", Feb. 11-18.
The Panthers (14-9, 6-6 CAA) are tied for sixth place in the CAA standings and just one game out of fourth. Ahead of State sits Towson (16-6, 7-5 CAA) and Hofstra (17-6, 7-5 CAA), which are both tied for fourth. William & Mary (14-9, 6-6 CAA) is tied with the Panthers for sixth. Georgia State faces each of these teams once as part of its final six regular season games.
A win Sunday would move the Panthers above .500 in league play for the first time since joining the CAA last season. State would also be no worse than tied for fifth in the conference with five games remaining.
Georgia State, which has played a school single-season record four overtime games in 2006-07, owns a 3-0 lead in the series against Towson. State came away with a thrilling 78-69 overtime victory the last time these two teams faced each other in Atlanta. Less than two weeks ago, the Panthers pulled away for an 87-81 triumph in Towson.
Towson has won two straight and five of its last six games. The Tigers are 8-3 on the road this season and 3-2 on the road against CAA foes.
Senior guard Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen (St. Petersburg, Fla.), paces State's offense, averaging 17.3 ppg, which ranks 60th nationally in scoring average. She is third on the team in rebounding at 5.6 boards per contest and leads the team in assists with 6.7 per outing, ranking 4th nationally.
Freshman forward Danyiell McKeller (Fayetteville, N.C.) is fifth on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.8 rpg). Another freshman, guard Tabitha David (Mableton, Ga.), is also averaging in double figures, totaling 10.8 per contest to rank third. David, the reigning CAA rookie of the week, is the team's top 3-point threat, connecting at 42 percent from beyond the arc and leads State with 52 treys. Her 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals made per game (2.5) rank 21st and 33rd, respectively, in the nation.
Sophomore center Marcquitta Head (Conley, Ga.) is Georgia State's top rebounder, collecting 8.7 boards per game; she scores 11.0 points per contest, ranking second on the team. Sophomore guard Brittany Hollins (Columbia, S.C.), is having an all-CAA type season, holding averages of 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds 5.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game. Her steals per game average leads the CAA and is listed 7th in the nation.
Freshman guard Shanae Baker-Brice, a four-time CAA Rookie of the Week selection, is Towson's top scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game. Holly Mahan is second in scoring (10.8) and leads the team in rebounding (7.6). Senior Kelly Robinson averages 10.3 points and 4.9 boards per game.
