Hempstead, N.Y. - Georgia State fell to Hofstra, 58-49, in CAA action Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers (10-4, 1-2) shot just 17-of-57 (29.8%), while the hosts hit 21-of-39 (53.8%) in their win. The Panthers entered the game leading the CAA in field goal percentage on the season (45).
Georgia State got 11 points from junior Angelique Burtts, nine from Jylisa Williams and eight from Danyiell McKeller. Hofstra got 14 points from six-foot-four center Jess Fuller.
The Panthers started with a quick 5-0 lead, but Hofstra got the lead back at 8-7 to keep it the remainer of the first half. Hofstra had grown the margin to 20-10, but the visiting Panthers scored the final nine of the first half to make it 20-19 at the halftime break.
State scored the first four points of the second half to finish that run from the first half at 13-0 and take aq 23-20 lead a minute into the second half. A Brittany Graham three and a pair of Burtts free throws gave GSU a 28-24 lead with 17:43 to play. But, the momentum shifted when Hofstra's Sam Brigham made a lay-up and Georgia State was assessed a technical foul. Brigham made those two free throws and the game was tied. Hofstra built that with five more points to finish a 9-0 run and take a 33-28 lead at 14;18. A McKeller basket cut that to 33-30, but three more Hofstra lay-ups made it 39-30 with 10 minutes left.
A Burtts basket ended a four and half minute GSU drought to make it 39-32, but Hofstra run off seven more unanswered points to take full control at 48-34 with six minutes left. Georgia State's final push saw a 7-0 run to close back to 48-41 with just under three minutes left to play. but Hofstra closed out the game with eight straight free thows.
"This is the first time all year I have to say we just didn't play well enough to win," Coach Lea Henry said. "We tried, but we just missed so many shots when we had good solid looks at the basket. You have got to make those to win as you see what happens when you shoot under 30 percent."
Georgia State returns home for a pair of CAA games on Thursday (VCU) and Sunday (Towson).
NOTEBOOK: The 49 points scored were a season-low for Georgia State...It was also the first time McKeller (20-point average) did not score in double figures this year as she hit just 4 of 19 shots...Georgia State forced 30 Hofstra turnovers and had 10 steals, but could not capitalize and turn those into enough points...The Panthers did have 15 offensive rebounds today and did shoot 80% from the free throw line (12-of-15)..Brittany Graham hit 2-of-3 three-point shots and has made 19 of her last 29 outside the arc (65.5%) to up her season total to 29-of-65 (44.6).
