ATLANTA (Jan. 27) ? A 51-point second half sparked Georgia State to a 77-74 Colonial Athletic Association win over Northeastern on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Arena.
The Panthers found themselves down by eight points, 51-43, with 11:40 to play when they used some strong inside play to go on a 9-0 run to gain momentum and the lead at 52-51. The game was tied for the 11th and final time at 60-60 with six minutes to play when back-to-back buckets from Danyiell McKeller and Chandra Harris gave State the lead they would never lose. With State leading 74-67 with 35 seconds, Northeastern made it close with a trey, a steal and a layup to make it 74-72 with 21 ticks remaining. Brittany Hollins nailed three of four free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
Georgia State (5-13, 2-5) was led by junior guard Brittany Hollins with 20 points, four steals and four assists. A pair of Panther post players had double-double efforts with freshman forward Chandra Harris scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and sophomore forward Danyiell McKeller scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Harris had her double-double in just 19 minutes of play.
The Panthers held a commanding 45-30 rebound advantage with 21 offensive boards. State shot 53 percent in the second half (18-of-34) en route to the season-best 51-point half. The game was tied 12 times and the lead changed hands 10 times. Georgia State got 25 of its points today from players coming off the bench.
Northeastern (5-12, 0-7) had five players in double figures, led by guard Jasmine Crew with 14 points. Forward Stefanie Hodell added 12 points as did Kendra Walton. Shaleyse Smallwood and Ashlee Feldman contributed 11 points. The Huskies made eight three-point baskets, but shot just 33 percent outside the arc.
“We challenged each of the players in the locker room to be the one today to make a difference and a lot of the players responded,” Coach Lea Henry said. “We got more energy and fire from everyone and kept our focus to the end. We took care of the ball better in the second half (just six) and used that effort for good shot selection and hustle rebounds. I think I might have broken my play board over there trying to get Chandra (Harris) fired up. She responded and was a huge difference in today's game.”
In the first half, Hollins scored the first four points of the game to spot State a 4-0 lead. But, after five minutes Hollins had two fouls and went to the bench for over 10 minutes. The game was tied at 14 after 10 minutes when State went on an 8-0 run spurred by treys from Brittany Hudson and Traci Haltiwanger to make it 22-14 with 6:55. Northeastern went on its best run of the game, 13-0, ignited by three treys, to open a 27-22 lead at 1:25. Northeastern carried a 29-26 lead into the halftime break.
"Coach really stressed that every rebound is important," Chandra Harris said postgame. "We needed a win today and everybody played hard to get it. Coach tells us to play with spirit and with energy and we did today. We younger players are trying to learn from our losses and I know I can play at this level and do well. I just have to keep working hard every day."
The Panthers will travel to Norfolk on Thursday to face No. 13 Old Dominion in a 7 p.m. game at the Constant Convocation Center.
NOTEBOOK: The Panthers have won two of their last three games...The 77 points is a season-high as were the 51 points in a second half...Hollins' 20 points marked her 12th consecutive game in double figures and pushed her over the 800-mark for her scoring career. Hollins, who is 24th in the nation in steals with 3.2 per game, added four more today...This was the second time this season State had a pair of players post double-doubles in the same game...McKeller and Harris each had their second double-double games of the season. It was the fifth of McKeller's career...The 22 assists today were a season-high, topping the 20 against Georgia Tech...
