WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

* GSU opened its Thanksgiving Classic Saturday with a 65-58 win over Howard.

* The Panthers got 17 points from Makeba Ponder and 12 rebounds from Alaysia Mitchell.

* Georgia State plays Charlotte from C-USA Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in the finale.

ATLANTA – Georgia State relied on its defense to post a 65-58 win over Howard in the opening game of the GSU Thanksgiving Classic at the Sports Arena. Charlotte defeated Mercer 72-62 in the second game.

GSU (2-3) forced 24 Howard turnovers and made 14 steals in converting those in 22 points. The Panthers limited the Lady Bison (0-6) to 28.6 percent shooting for the game. Georgia State also had a 46-44 rebound advantage.

Sophomore guard Makeba Ponder led the Panthers in the win with 17 points, while junior forward Alaysia Mitchell crashed the board for 12 rebounds (six on each end of the court). Freshman Astaja Tyghter came away with four steals and senior guard Ashlee Cole had three more thefts. Freshman point guard Madison Newby added six assists and seven rebounds.

Howard's stellar leader Victoria Gonzalez returned after missing the last game with an injury to produce 24 points and 15 rebounds in her return to her hometown (Columbia High School). Sydni Johnson added 10 more points and seven rebounds.

Host Georgia State threatened to blow the game open several times, but each time Howard responded to keep it close. The Panthers built a 32-24 halftime lead into a 15-point lead at 39-24 with 6:30 to go in the third quarter. But, the Lady Bison promptly went on a 10-0 run to close it back to 39-34 at 4:26. After the three quarters, GSU led 48-39.

Once again, GSU pulled away at 55-41 with 7:15 to go, but once again Howard responded to close it right back to those five points at 58-53 with 1:42 to play.

“We're always glad to win and I am proud we did some things we needed to do in tight games, like making the free throws and getting key stops and rebounds,” coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “I know we need to take better care of the basketball than we did today. We also need to learn to play with the lead and take better shots and do smarter things when we are in command.”