MARTIN, Tenn. -- In a game with 11 lead changes, Georgia State dropped an 84-80 decision to UT Martin in the opening round of the preseason WNIT Friday night.
Visiting Georgia State led by three at 10:30 (61-58) and forged back ahead at 71-70 with five minutes left, but UT Martin pulled away from 75-74 with 2:40 to claim the win. The game was tied 40-40 at halftime.
Georgia State tied its school record with 11 3-point baskets made and stopped UT Martin's Heather Butler's NCAA record of 3-point games at 80 as she was 0-for-5.
Kendra Long led Georgia State with 20 points, while guard Gaby Moss added 16 points and point guard Alisha Andrews netted 14 more points to go with six assists. The Panthers played without starting 6-foot-4 center, Brittany Logan, who had to sign a waiver for eligibility and will join the team for the next game. Moss was a perfect 4-for-4 outside the arc, while Andrews was 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
Georgia State shot 49.1% for the game, hitting 26 of 53 shots, including 11 of 24 3-point baskets. The Panthers hurt themselves by making just 17 of 27 free throws (63%) and missing the front ends of three one-and-one opportunities in the final 10 minutes.
The new rules for 2013-14 emphasize touch fouls more and there were 51 fouls called, 26 on Georgia State and 25 on UT Martin. Hayley Gerrin was the only Panther to foul out, but Andrews, Long and Ashley Watson all hung on with four fouls.
UT Martin was able to capitalize on center Logan's absence, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds on GSU's post players, while leading the game total 43-29. In addition to Logan, the Panthers were also without 6-foot-2 power forward Ashanti Groover (injury), who should be able to return for the next game as well.
"We did a lot of good things, shot well and if you told me we'd score 80 points, I would have thought we would win," coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "We didn't do a good job on containing their drives in the paint and that hurt us along with missing a lot of key free throws we must make."
"We pretty much took it to them on offense, made some nice baskets and got ourselves to the free throw line 27 times," she said. "Obviously, having a good performance in the center would have helped us tonight, but the good news is Brittany (Logan) will be back for the rest of the season."
Facing a team with two of the top 10 scorers in the NCAA, each averaging almost 23 points a game, GSU held Heather Butler to 14 points and stopped her 3-point streak, while Jasmine Newsome finished strong down the stretch with 9 of 13 free throws to net her average of 24 points on 7-of-16 field goals. UT Martin has been to three consecutive NCAA postseason tournaments and is the preseason favorite again in the OVC.
The see-saw game was tight from start to finish as each team had its largest lead of the game of six points. UT Martin's 83.3% free throw shooting (11-of-13) in the second half was a key down the stretch.
Ten Panthers scored in tonight's opener and 10 grabbed rebounds as well for the balance and depth that should help the team.
Georgia State will play two more games in the preseason WNIT next weekend and expect to find out details of the opponents and site by Sunday.
