Hempstead, NY (Jan. 20) ? Georgia State erased a nine-point halftime deficit to come back and earn its first CAA road win of the season, 64-53, over Hofstra at the Mack Sports Complex.
Georgia State trailed 29-20 at the break, but rushed out to an 11-2 run to start the second half and tie the game. When Hofstra answered with a run to take a 43-36 advantage, the visitors answered again with an 8-0 run to take its first lead on a jumper by Danyiell McKeller. Hofstra's last lead was 45-44 with 4:08 when State had a four-point possession to gain a lead it would never lose. Georgia State outscored Hofstra, 28-10, in the final seven minutes of the game.
Georgia State (4-12, 1-4) got 19 points, including 13 in the second half, from Danyiell McKeller. Shay Rawls posted her sixth double-double of the year with a 12-point, 11-rebound game. Brittany Hollins and Traci Haltiwanger each added 10 points.
"We played one of our better halves of the season in the second half and were active on both ends of the court," Coach Lea Henry said after the game. "We scored on the one end (44 points, a second half best) and defended on the other (10 steals in the second half, 19 second-half turnovers forced, 20 second half rebounds). With this same starting group the past four or five games, we're beginning to get some team chemistry developing."
In the first half, Hofstra jumped out to a 6-0 lead after four minutes before Monica Mann's three-point basket put State on the scoreboard at 15:26. The first three-point basket of the year from Courtney Chasten and a basket by Brittany Hollins tied the game for the first time with 8:42 in the opening period. A McKeller basket tied the game again at 12 with 7:42. A pair of free throws from McKeller closed Hofstra's lead to 19-16 at 4:11. The host Pride then went on a 10-2 run sparked by a trey from Aamira Terry to open a 29-18 lead before a pair of State free throws made it 29-20 at the half.
Georgia State returns to Atlanta for a pair of home CAA games next week as the Panthers will host Delaware on Thursday evening and Northeastern on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Arena.
NOTEBOOK: Georgia State defeated Hofstra for the first time as a member of the CAA. Hofstra had won all four regular season meetings and a tournament quarterfinal game in the past two seasons as CAA rivals. State posted a 77-43 win over Hofstra on Staten Island in 1989-90 at Wagner...This marked the second consecutive game the Panthers had four players score in double figures...This marked the 6th time Brittany Hollins played all 40 minutes of a game this season as she has logged 193 of a possible 200 minutes in CAA action. Her four steals upped her career total to 227 to tie for third in school history with Patechia Hartman. She needs 20 more for the school all-time record...Shay Rawls has six double-doubles, four in the last six games, this season with 8 games of 10 or more rebounds as she challenges for the CAA lead...State had 10 steals in the second half and 15 for the game to tie for its second most in a game this season...The 44-point second half bested the previous season-best of 42 points in the second half win over Jacksonville State.
