ATLANTA (Dec. 5) ? For Georgia State, it was a second home game, a second school record and a second-straight 40-plus point win.
Georgia State posted this 83-42 win over Alabama State Friday night with a school record 38-of-54 from the free throw line to follow Tuesday's 82-42 win with a school-record 30 steals.
Panthers' senior guard Brittany Hollins scored her 1,000th career point in the first half of tonight's win as well. Georgia State, 3-2 and ranked No. 30 in the Sagarin RPI coming in, was led by 16 points from junior forward Danyiell McKeller, 14 points from junior forward Dana Olsen and 10 points from freshman guard Jylisa Williams. Hollins, who played just 23 minutes of the game, added a team-best five steals, eight points, four rebounds,
For Georgia State's top-10 statistically ranked team, it was another stellar effort as the Panthers maintained their season average of 17.8 steals and 30 turnovers a game with 19 more steals tonight and 29 forced turnovers. This also marks the first time in school history for back-to-back 40-point wins.
Alabama State (1-5) was led in scoring by forward Tanika Jackson with 14 points and guard L'Teisha Holloway with 12 points.
“These last two games are showing how much stronger, deeper and better our roster is going to be this year,” veteran head coach Lea Henry said post game. “This team plays with energy and feeds off the transition baskets created by the steals.”
“Brittany (Hollins) is a truly unselfish player and team leader who has a complete game with her defense, her passing and her rebounding,” Henry said. “She gives us so much energy on the defensive end and plays her heart out, so it is nice to see her reach yet another milestone in her career.”
“One other reason this team is improving is the great job our point guard, Crystal Johnson, has been doing,” Henry, a former Olympic point guard added. “You can't have a good team without a good point guard and she is beginning to give us that kind of play.”
Georgia State grew an early 15-12 lead after seven minutes into an 11-point 23-12 lead with a quick 8-0 run and continued to grow the lead to 39-20 by halftime with 10 steals in that opening half and 18-of-23 free throw shooting in those first 20 minutes.
When Georgia State started the second half with a 22-8 run to build the lead to 61-28 at 13:25, the lead was never under 30 points the rest of the way. Brittany Graham's back-to-back three-point baskets helped spark that early second-half run.
Georgia State's 38-of-54 (70.4%) from the line topped the 36 made against UCF in 1985 and the 52 attempts tried against Cumberland in 1997.
Georgia State will now be off for 10 days for semester final exams and return to action on Monday, Dec 15 against Louisiana-Lafayette in the UAB Blazer Invitational Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. Georgia State's originally scheduled game for Dec. 13 with Winthrop has been moved to Jan. 27.
NOTEBOOK: Hollins climbed into 8th place in CAA history with her 278 steals, passing WNBA first-round Atlanta Dream draft pick Tamera Young of James Madison and ODU's Sharron Francis...Versatile Hollins is closing in on 400 career rebounds (395) and 400 career assists (377). Hollins is a perfect 8-for-8 in free throws this year...Brittany Graham hit 2-of-4 three-point baskets to keep her season percentage at 50% outside the arc (8-of-16)...Danyiell McKeller is a perfect five-for-five games in double-figure games this season...Dana Olsen was 7-of-8 to up her season FT percentage to 82.6 on 19-of 23. Her 14 points topped her 12 scored in the win at Clemson...McKeller is a solid 55% from the field (33-60) and 78% from the line (21-of-27)...Crystal Johnson leads the team with 20 assists (four per game)....Freshman Jylisa Williams had her third double-figure game of the year and is second on the team with 16 steals...Georgia State has been a second-half team, outscoring all five opponents and holding a +55 point-advantage in second halves...The Panthers are an amazing +62 in turnovers made vs. turnovers allowed and +60 in steals made vs. steals allowed...Up-tempo State has scored more than 80 points in its three wins and averages 70.4 per game...
