ATLANTA - Trailing by 11 points at 36-25 with 13:50 to play, Georgia State upped the tempo for a furious 34-11 finish the rest of the game to defeat Jacksonville State, 59-47, Thursday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
Visiting Jacksonville State led 25-19 at halftime and came back out to build the lead to those 11 points six minutes into the half. But, the host Panthers stepped up the offense and defense to score 11 straight points in five minutes and tie the game at 36 with 8:42 left.
JSU re-gained the lead at 39-36 with 8:16 left, but the hustling Panther defense sparked a transition game that led to a run of 11-2 to give GSU control at 47-41 at 3:41. JSU's last answer was a trey from Brittany Wiley at 2:40 to cut it back to 47-44. It was all GSU over the final 2:40 with a 12-3 run.
GSU (4-4) was ranked in the top 20 in the nation in field goal defense and blocks and excelled in that again tonight by holding JSU to 28.8%, blocking 7 shots, forcing 27 turnovers and making 17 steals. The 47 points marks a sixth straight opponent held to 55 or fewer points.
Freshman guard Kendra Long led GSU with 16 points, including five-of-seven outside the three-point arc. Chan Harris returned after missing the last game and added 12 points and six rebounds. Guard Tiffany Anderson added 10 more points in subbing for discipline-benched leading scorer Angelique Burtts. Guard Jerlisa Taylor came off the bench to add eight assists and six points. The Panthers also got a boost from returning veteran center Marcquitta Head, back after two years, as she provided energy with six points, four rebounds, two steals and a block in her first 18 minutes.
JSU (2-7) was led by Brittany Wiley's 16 points and eight rebounds, while Danielle Beneby added 11 more points and six rebounds, to go with five assists and four steals.
"I didn't really yell at the team at halftime or anything, I just told them to do what we are suppposed to do and the shots will start falling in the second half," said coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. And, she was right as GSU shot 13-of-24 for 54.2% in the second half.
"Kendra made some big shots, but as a freshman she has to keep paying attention to details to help us all around," Baldwin-Tener said. "Marcquitta gave us a lot of energy and her presence inside on both ends of the floor makes things happen. We had a size advantage tonight and were able to use it some. And, Jerlisa's eight assists were a huge factor, too."
Georgia State travels Friday to Louisiana for a Saturday afternoon game at Nicholls State.
