LAFAYETTE, LA. – Georgia State fought third-place UL Lafayette to the finish with seven ties and six lead changes, but the host Ragin' Cajuns prevailed 65-60.
Visiting Georgia State led at the end of the first quarter 19-17 and at halftime 30-29. The Panthers led in the third quarter by four points, but turnovers helped UL Lafayette take a 49-45 lead after three periods. GSU kept trying to re-gain the lead, but never quite could as it was 54-52 with 5:30, but GSU turned the ball over with a chance to tie or lead, then 57-55 with 4:11, but the Panthers again turned the ball over with a chance to tie or lead. When Makeba Ponder drained a 3-pointer with 2:24 that closed it back to just one point at 59-58. But, Keke Veal answered with a three-point play at two minutes. GSU missed a layup and had to foul as Brooklyn Arceneaux converted.
Georgia State turned the ball over 25 times, 19 of them by its freshmen class that plays a lot. The Panthers turned the ball over 13 times in the second half while veteran UL Lafayette turned it over just four times.
UL Lafayette took advantage of its four seniors, who scored 53 of the Ragin' Cajun's 65 points and had just nine turnovers. GSU played its four freshmen 88 minutes and got 21 points from them, but the 19 turnovers by that group was a difference.
GSU (10-18, 5-14) was led by sophomore Makeba Ponder with 19 points on 7 of 11 shots and 5 of 8 3-point baskets, to go with three steals on defense. Freshman forward Astaja Tyghter added 10 points of 5 of 9 baskets with two steals. Georgia State shot 49 percent for the game on 24-of-49 and the rebounds were tight at 32-30 for UL Lafayette. But, those 25 turnovers to 16 spelled out the difference.
UL Lafayette (19-9, 12-7) was paced by senior guard KeKe Veal with 20 points (7 of 20 shots) and three steals, while senior forward Adrienne Prejean hit 6 of 9 shots for 13 points and senior Brooklyn Arceneaux added 12 more points.
“The difference was pretty simple tonight: turnovers,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “We fought and we played fairly well in spurts. Makeba Ponder played well on both ends of the court. We are a young team and sometimes that shows. But, everyone played tough tonight and I'm proud of that effort.”
Georgia State moves on to Monroe to close the season on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the Warhawks.
