Long Named GSU Student-Athlete of the Week

Women's Basketball 1/23/2014 5:10:00 PM Charlie Taylor/Sports Communications

Women Win Third Straight With 72-67 OT Win

LAFAYETTE, La. - Georgia State won its third straight by coming from nine points down and winning in overtime 72-67 over Louisiana-Lafayette in a Sun Belt Conference game.

For the second-place Panthers of GSU, this is becoming the norm.

Down nine at 51-42 at the 14:00 mark, GSU began clawing back. After getting it back to a one-point deficit at 5:24, at 4:44 and again at 2:36, Georgia State finally tied it at 62 with 23.8 seconds on a pair of free throws by Haley Gerrin. GSU made a steal and had a chance to win in regulation, but a shot with two seconds left bounced off the rim.

In overtime, GSU got the lead quickly with two free throws by Kayla Nolan at 4:43 and two more by Brittany Logan at 4:00 to make it 66-62. UL-Lafayette closed within one at 66-65 at 2:00, but Ashlee Cole made two free throws. Kia Wildridge scored for UL-Lafayette at 1:10, but Cole scored with 1:00 to make it 70-67. Two final free throws by Long sealed the third straight win for GSU. GSU was 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the OT.

The leaders for Georgia State (8-10, 4-2 Sun Belt) were mainly from the bench. Logan, the junior 6-foot-4 center, came on to score 16 points and grab 15 rebounds for her second double-double of the year (14/12 earlier). Sophomore guard Ashlee Cole was inserted and added a career-high 16 points with 6-10 shooting and a pair of treys.Freshman 6-foot-2 forward Haley Gerrin came off the bench to produce her double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Georgia State's bench scored 53 of its 72 points.

GSU starting guard, and only senior, Kendra Long added 10 points and hit two 3-pointers to reach 200 3-point baskets for her career. Point guard Alisha Andrews was a spark with five assists, three steals and five points.

The Panthers shot 18-21 from the free throw line for the game (85.7%) after hitting 51.7% from the field in slipping into halftime with a 37-36 lead. GSU finished at 44.6% from the field for the game.

Georgia State held a 43-32 rebound advantage this evening, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds against the Ragin' Cajuns. The game was tied 10 times.

"Obviously, I am so proud of this team as they have learned not to quit and fight to the finish in every game," coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "We seem to get down, but then just keep plugging away, making plays and finding ways to win.Tonight, it was a team effort as so many different players stepped up and scored, rebounded, passed, defended and did things that don't always show up on the stat sheets.

"I'm pleased to see Brittany Logan have her best overall game at Georgia State and her size can be a big difference in any game, so we need more of this type play from her."

Logan, a junior college All-American, knows her capabilities. "I know they need me to rebound and I am trying harder to do that. I know I can help this team in a lot of ways. This team really plays to win at the end and we stay aggressive on both ends. Everybody just follows one another and makes plays when we need them. We believe in ourselves."

UL-Lafayette (10-7, 3-3) got 16 points and nine rebounds from forward Brooklyn Arceneaux. Sylvana Okde added 14 points, while Kia Wilridge had 13 points.

Georgia State sits one-game out of first place in the Sun Belt now at 4-2, one game behind Arkansas State (5-1), a team GSU beat in Jonesboro, Ark earlier by two points. The Panthers are tied with Western Kentucky in second among the 10 Sun Belt teams.

Georgia State stays in Louisiana and goes on to UL-Monroe to play the Warhawks on Saturday at 3 p.m. Listen live on WRAS-FM radio.

NOTEBOOK:

This was Georgia State's first OT of the season and ended a string of six straight overtime losses since a win in 2007.
The three-game win streak is the first since last year when the Panthers won three straight in December after having won four straight in November.
Winning 'em close. This OT win follows a one-point win, three two-point wins, a three-point win, a six-point win and an eight-point win this season.
Brittany Logan's 16 points and 15 rebounds topped her 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. UCF on Nov. 19.
Kendra Long's 200th 3-point basket makes her the second in GSU history, joining men's guard Shellord Pinkett (240 from 1994-98). Long has 1,110 career points.
Ashlee Cole's 16 points top her previous best by two points with 14 points at Santa Clara this year on Dec. 20.
GSU will play its 13th road game of the season on Saturday, with only six home games.
With 15 combined points this evening, the backcourt duo of Kendra Long and Alicia Andrews now has 2,009 career points.
Freshman Haley Gerrin's 13 points and 10 rebounds were her first double-double in college. But, she fouled out in the overtime. She just missed with a 23-point, 9-rebound game vs. Jacksonville State.