ATLANTA – Charlotte used a 15-0 run in the second half to pull away from Georgia State en route to its 83-71 win on Sunday in the GSU Thanksgiving Classic. Mercer topped Howard 70-53 in the first game of the afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
GSU and Charlotte were tied 10 times and the lead changed hands seven times in the first half. The host Panthers had their largest lead of 30-25 with 4:12 in the second quarter. The final tie was at 34 with 1:34 before Charlotte's Kira Gordon drained a 3-point basket to give the 49ers a 37-34 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, GSU scored to close within 46-45 with 5:20 when the deciding run came. The visiting 49ers went on a prolonged 15-0 scoring streak to make it 61-45 before GSU finally scored after nearly five minutes with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
GSU closed back to nine points at 62-53 with 8:23 and drew back to 74-65 with 1:10 to play, but never drew closer.
Host GSU (2-4) had four players in double figures, topped by Ashlee Cole with 15 points (all in the first half). Madison Newby finished with 14 points, while Makeba Ponder added 12 more and Alaysia Mitchell contributed 10 points.
Visiting Charlotte (4-2) had all five starters in double figures, paced by Lefty Webster with 16 points, followed by Alexis Alexander with 13 points and Kira Gordon with 12 points. The 49ers capitalized on 9 of 21 3-point baskets with four players each hitting a pair. Charlotte used its size advantage to own a 45-36 rebound advantage and block seven shots. The 49ers shot 45 percent for the game with GSU coming it at just 37 percent.
“We had the rebound advantage (22-19) in the first half and got to the free throw line 10 times to their four, but then in the second half they got more aggressive and had a 23-17 board advantage and got to the free throw line 26 times to our 6,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “We cut back on our turnovers today and had just 10 to show improvement and we shot 88 percent from the free throw line to mark that improvement. We used 12 players as we continue to evaluate and see where we are here at the start of the year with so many new players.”
The All-Classic team was Victoria Gonzales from Howard, Sydni Means from Mercer, Alaysia Mitchell and Makeba Ponder from Georgia State and Kira Gordon from Charlotte. Charlotte's Alexis Alexander was chosen as Most Valuable Player.
Georgia State returns to action Saturday at the Sports Arena when the Panthers host the North Florida Ospreys at 2 p.m.
