Off the Court with GSU Basketball: Mariam Hannoun

Women's Basketball Charlie Taylor/Sports Communications

16 Percent First Half Leads to 57-45 Loss in Texas

What you need to know:

* Georgia State lost to the No. 13 defensive-ranked team, UT Arlington, 57-45

* With the loss, the Panthers slip to 3-7 and ninth place among the 11 SBC teams

* GSU returns to Atlanta to play second-place Arkansas State Saturday at noon

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Georgia State shot 16 percent in the first half and 32 percent for the game in suffering a 57-45 loss at UT Arlington Thursday night. The visiting Panthers compounded the poor shooting with 20 turnovers to complete the recipe for a loss.

This gives GSU's new nemesis, UTA, a sweep again in year two of the series. UTA, a team that finished last with three conference wins last year, swept GSU. This year, UTA, 2-6 against the rest of the league this year, swept GSU 45-39 and 57-45.

In the Jan. 15 win, UTA held GSU to 34.8 percent on 16 of 46. Tonight, it was 14 of 43 and 32.6 percent. UT Arlington is No. 13 in the NCAA in fewest points allowed per game (54.0), so the Mavericks improved that stat this evening.

Georgia State (8-11, 3-7) played without double-figure scoring Makeba Ponder (41 3-pointers), who was left in Atlanta with an injury. Six-foot-four center Brittany Logan, the leading scorer, got five fouls in just 12 minutes on the court, scoring just four points. Freshman forward Kennesha Nichols ended up being GSU's “leader” with eight points and six rebounds, while seldom-used guard Mariam Hannoun, who hasn't even played in nine games this year, scored seven points in 10 minutes.

UT Arlington (8-11, 4-6) got 16 points from 6-foot-5 center Rebekah Van Dijk, 10 of which came after Logan fouled out for GSU. Guard Cierra Johnson added 13 points with 7 of 8 free throws.

The first half was competitive and close with UTA up 19-15 with 1:52 to go. But, the host Mavericks hit a lay-up, then a free throw, and finally a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to go into the break at 25-15.

In the second half, the Mavs hit a pair of treys, Logan got three fouls, and UTA had a 12-4 run to make it 37-19 at 16:11. UTA took full control from there and had GSU doubled at 50-25 at with 7:50 to play. The largest lead of the game was 54-27 with 5:56 to play. Georgia State closed the game with a 18-3 run to make the final score 57-45.

Georgia State hit 15 of 18 free throws (83.3%), while making eight steals on the evening. The Panthers brought 13 players, all 13 played and 11 of them played 10 or more minutes this evening. GSU returns to Atlanta to play host to Arkansas State on Saturday at noon.

What you need to know:

* Georgia State defeated Presbyterian 5-2 on Saturday at Atlanta Athletic Club.

* With the win, the Panthers improve to 1-1 on the season.

* It was head coach Brett Ross' first career win.

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