Dover, Del. (Dec. 16) - The Georgia State somen's basketball team rolled to a 66-42 road win over Delaware State on Wednesday evening at Memorial Hall.
The Panthers (6-1) won their fifth straight game by allowing a season-low 42 points and holding a fourth consecutive opponent to 50 points or less.
Georgia State got a career-best 26 points from senior forward Danyiell McKeller, who came in averaging 20 points a game to rank in the top 25 in the nation. This 11-of-18 shooting game was her fourth of 20 or more points this season. Junior wing Angelique Burtts added 12 points, while sophomore guard Crystal Johnson provided 11 more points and seven assists. Senior forward Shay Rawls led the team with nine rebounds.
Georgia State, who rank No. 15 in the nation in field goal percentage and lead the CAA at 46.8%, shot 65 percent in the first half and 57.1% for the game by hitting 28 of their 49 shots.
Delaware State (1-7) was led by 14 points from guard Cortney Crockett and eight rebounds by Sade Bowen.
"We communicated well on defense, played a rare zone for us, and were patient in what we were doing," Coach Lea
Henry said. "Our defense frustrated them and we played with a purpose. I am thrilled at how hard the team is competing. This group really wants to do well and they are working hard."
On Danyiell McKeller, Coach Henry noted: "Danyiell is so active in getting open and creating shots. And, she
leads by her example of playing tough defense and coming up with the five steals like she did tonight."
The key run in the game came in the first half. Georgia State opened a quick seven-point lead at 11-4, but the host
Hornets tied the game at 13 at 9:15. An increase in the defensive effort sparked a 16-1 run over those final nine
minutes of the half and the Panthers went into halftime with a 29-14 cushion.
The closest Delaware State ever got again was 38-28 when the Panthers quickly answered with a 10-0 run to
make it 48-28 with a little under nine minutes to play.
The 24-point win was just under the 29-win point win Saturday over Nicholls and the 25-point win over
Kennesaw State as the Panthers have won all six games this year by 14 or more points.
The Panthers' defense limited the Hornets to 42 tonight, just below the 44 to Presbyterian College and the 45 to
Troy University.
Georgia State continues this road trip by moving up the coast to metro New York City to play at Iona College on
Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
NOTEBOOK: The team's 6-1 start equals the best start by the 1980-81 team that went 28-5...The 2000-01 team started 7-2 en route to 24-7, while the 1999-2000 team roared out to a 9-2 start on its way to 24-7...The Panthers entered the DSU game leading the CAA with 16 assists a game and added 18 tonight....The hot-shooting Panthers have shot better than 50% in nine of the 14 halves this season...McKeller is closing in on 1,000 points for her 86-game career as she sits at 961 now. She got her 500th career rebound last week...The Panthers are 3-0 on the road this year...Shay Rawls upped her career rebounding total to 592, needing eight more for the 600-plateau, needing 116 to crack the top 10 in school history...McKeller's five steals tonight were a personal-best, topping the four steal games she has had in the past...The Panthers last five-game winning streak was in 2006-07 with six in a row in games eight thru 13.
