Mission Improbable, but not Impossible. That was the story line for the short-handed Georgia State Panthers as they upset defending CAA Champion and current second-place Drexel, 60-58, Thursday night.
Georgia State, who had already lost two starters this season, was without senior leader Danyiell McKeller (injured hamstring Sunday), so with 40 points missing from the offense, the Panthers needed a lot of help from a lot of people. And, they got it.
The final hero was senior forward Shay Rawls, who scored a basket, was fouled and made the free throw with 11.8 seconds left to put GSU back on top 60-57. On Drexel's final possession, GSU coach Lea Henry opted to foul Drexel and send them to the line with 4.2 seconds, knowing the Dragons had already made 8 three-point baskets tonight. Marisa Crane made the first, then intentionally bounced the second hard off the rim with Gabriela Marginean grabbing a tipped rebound near the three-point line. Marginean launched an off-balance shot that was wide and GSU had the upset.
Drexel, 17-9 coming in, had just completed a Mission Improbable run of their own to set up the final heroics. With GSU leading, 55-43, with just 4:40 to play, visiting Drexel went on a 12-0 run to tie the game, 55-55, at 1:46. GSU's Traci Haltiwanger hit a jumper from the baseline with 50 seconds to put the Panthers back on top. But, Marginean went back to work and tied the game with a spinning drive with 37 seconds and got a free throw. The 89% free throw shooter missed and GSU got the rebound and the chance to set up the final go-ahead basket.
Georgia State (14-13, 5-11) got 20 big points from junior Angelique Burtts (7-of-13 and 3-of-6 outside the arc) with 17 of those coming in the first half. Rawls added 13 more points and nine rebounds. Point guard Crystal Johnson just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 assists. Guard Traci Haltiwanger came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-7.
Drexel (17-10, 11-5) was led by the league's MVP, forward Gabriela Marginean. Marginean was a spectacular 6-of-6 outside the three-point line and 11-of-19 overall for 34 points. The No. 7 scorer in the country came in averaging 23.3 a game. But, the 89% career FT shooter was just 6-of-9 this evening from the line. Marginean played just 9 of the 20 minutes in the first half when she caught a forearm to the jaw when reaching in for a steal in the open court. But, in the second half, she poured in 25 points, while scoring 13 in a row from 16:08 to 4:32. She scored 23 of Drexel's last 28 points.
The game was tied at the half, 27-27. Host Georgia State scored the first basket of the half and had a 9-3 start to open a 36-30 lead at 14:59. State led by 7 at 42-35, when Marginean closed it back to 42-40 at 9:25 with a trey. But, the host Panthers had an 11-1 run over the next four minutes to make it 53-41 with 5:25. State repeated that 12-point cushion at 55-43 when the Dragons made the huge run to tie the game.
Georgia State's improbable win included 61.9% shooting in the second half (13-of-21). Georgia State's size helped them to a 31-21 rebounding advantage.
The improbable certainly didn't look probable at the start of the game when Drexel opened a 7-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes. With three consecutive three's, Drexel built a nine-point lead at 16-7 at 12:24. Georgia State's rally to get back into the game was sparked by Burtts, who nailed a pair of three-point baskets to get it back to 21-19 at 5:43. The first tie of the game was at 25 with 2:15 and then the halftime tie of 27.
"We certainly had our backs against the wall tonight," Coach Lea Henry said postgame. "When some are out, it is the opportunity for others to step up and everyone on the team seemed to be making plays tonight. It is rewarding for the kids, especially the freshmen, to get a win like this."
When asked about the intentional foul to send Drexel to the line with 4.2 seconds, she said: "That is the first time I have ever fouled on purpose at the end of a game. It is risky and I have seen it done on other televised games. It ended up working, even though that rebound off the intentional missed free throw was wild."
"The lineup tonight may have been inexperienced, but that overcame that with effort. The team had the will to win tonight for all 40 minutes and that's what it takes. We shot extremely well in the second half and got to the basket and converted."
Georgia State stays home for Senior Day on Sunday afternoon with George Mason at 2 p.m.
Drexel's next Mission Improbable may be to try to get home to Philadelphia where a heavy snow hit today.
NOTEBOOK: Georgia State has lost CAA games by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 points and now won a pair by 2 and 3 points. In all 14 of the 16 league games have been decided by 10 points or fewer...Burtts, a JUCO All-American last year, had 10 games with 20 or more points last year, and tied for best at Georgia State with the 20 points this evening...Veteran leader Shay Rawls upped to career rebounds to 764 and with nine tonight, will inch her 8.0 per game average that ranks 5th in the CAA a little bit higher...Crystal Johnson, who leads the CAA in assists for a second straight year had 9 assists tonight, her sixth game this year with 9 or more. She was No. 21 in the NCAA going in and will move up after this game...Freshman Erica Sumpter had her personal-best with 7 rebounds as she had a pair of game with 4 this season...Freshman Cody Paulk upped her blocked shot total to 18 with the pair this evening...GSU improves to 9-6 at home this year, 4-4 at home in the CAA... GSU lost twice this year in the closing 30 seconds to first-place ODU and now upset the No. 2 team and defending champion...Former NFL player and 15-year MLB player Brian Jordan was in the stands to enjoy the win last night. Jordan now does TV for the Atanta Braves, Gwinnett Braves and some college football. He was a CAA football player at Richmond.
