ATLANTA (Dec. 30) – Georgia State won the championship of the 16th Annual Georgia State Invitational with a 76-49 romp over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Wednesday at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers (9-2) up-tempo style upped the streak to 12 straight wins when scoring 70 or points and the full-court defense upped that streak to 49 straight wins when holding the opponent to under 50 points.
Senior forward Danyiell McKeller again led the scoring with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while senior center Shay Rawls stepped up with a double-double game of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jylisa Williams added 10 points off the bench.
UMES (2-5) had three players in double figures with April McBride and Casey Morton each scoring 12 points, while Chelsea Sanders added 11 more points.
Georgia State gained control midway through the first half when the Panthers broke from a 14-13 lead with a 15-4 run from 8:15 to 3:24 to make it 29-17. GSU held a 31-20 lead at halftime.
In the second half, State started with an 8-2 run in the first two minutes to make it 39-22 at 17:00 and the closest UMES could get after that was 15 points.
With 7:50 to play, State was cruising at 53-38 when it went on a quick 11-0 burst over the next 1:45 to make it 64-38 with 6:06 left on the clock.
The game included 48 fouls called, 27 on UMES and 21 on GSU. The Panthers hit a season-high 27-of-40 from the free throw line.
Georgia State's nationally-ranked defense forced 19 turnovers, made 10 steals, blocked nine shots and held UMES to 29.3% shooting on the evening.
“This was a physical, rough game, but the team stayed focused and got the job done,” Coach Lea Henry said. “We are pleased to be 9-2 finishing up the non-conference portion of our schedule, bowing to only a pair of top 25-ranked teams.”
“We have worked hard to prepare to get to this starting point of the CAA and will be ready to host the opener on Sunday,” Henry continued. “I will be watching film on New Year's Eve, but I wish all our fans a Happy New Year.”
“We dedicated this tournament win to Chan Harris, recovering from her surgery last week on her foot,” Henry added. “Chan is an important part of our family and we hope she has a speedy recovery and knows we are all thinking about her.”
Georgia State will begin its 18-game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play when it plays host to UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Sports Arena.
NOTEBOOK: The 9-2 start equals the second best in school history, done twice before...The best is the 11-2 start back in 1975-76...This is the 11th time in the 16 years of the Georgia State Invitational that the Panthers have won their host tournament...This is the sixth of the 11 opponents this year that the Panthers have held to 50 points or fewer, dropping the CAA-best defense to 51.8 points a game...McKeller's 22 points marked the 7th game of the 11 she has topped 20 or more points to keep her average at 20.5 per game...Shay Rawls double-double game was the 10th of her career. It was the 18th time she has scored in double figures and the 19th time she has had double figures in rebounding in a game...Rawls has scored in double figures in three of the last four games since taking over in the post for injured Chan Harris...Rawls leads the team in rebounding now at 6.8 per game...The 10 steals marked the 8th time in the 11 games that the team has had 10 or more steals in a game, leading the CAA with 11.6 a game...The top thief race shows McKeller and Angelique Burtts tied with 26 each, just one ahead of Crystal Johnson...Brittany Graham has knocked down 10 of her last 14 three-point shots over the past four games (.714) to up her season totals to 20-of-47 outside the arc for .426...Crystal Johnson had 11 assists in the two tournament games to up her team-best season average to 4.73 assists per game, second in the CAA...The Panthers lead the CAA in field goal percentage for the season, hitting a rate of 45.8 on the year...Rawls' 25-of-40 (.625) tops Harris' 25-of-43 (.581) for the team lead...Rawls played in her 100th career game at State on Wednesday as she has never missed one...Coach Henry notched her 297th career win, rapidly closing in on the 300-win mark...The All-Tournament team included MVP McKeller, with Rawls and Johnson from GSU, April McBride from UMES, Paige Smith from UT Martin and Ashley Brown from Mississippi Valley State.
