ATLANTA – Kamryn Dziak scored 15 points and Mikyla Tolivert scored 14 as Georgia State used a strong second half surge to down Emory 83-61 in their exhibition match Sunday afternoon.

Playing in the new GSU Convocation Center for the first time, Georgia State heated up and shot .667 from field goal and three point range to outscore Emory 48-27 in the second half after holding a slim one-point lead through the first two quarters.  The Panthers went 8-for-15 from three-point range, outrebounded the Eagles 43-25 and outscored them 36-14 in the paint while holding them to just six attempts at the free throw line.

Dziak went 5-for-8 from three-point range, and Tolivert went 6-for-9, including a perfect 4-for-4 in the second half, while registering four steals to fuel the Panthers late surge.

Deasia Merrill tallied 10 points off the bench, and freshman Zay Dyer, in her first action at the collegiate level, just missed a double-double, scoring nine points while grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. 

Alyssa Phillip also chipped in on the defensive end with seven rebounds, and Jenae Dublin led the team with three blocks while scoring eight points.  All ten players who entered the game for the Panthers scored with nine of them registering six or more points.

GSU trailed 42-41 midway through the third quarter when they used an 8-0 run on a layup and back-to-back threes by Tolivert and Dziak to take the lead for good and led 59-50 heading into the fourth.

Emory cut into Panther lead with a pair of free throws and a three pointer to pull within six but could get no closer as GSU outscored them 22-6 over the final 7:48 to close out the game.

The Panthers locked down on defense after trailing 26-17 through the first quarter, holding Emory to .317 shooting for the rest of the game.

"When we stay together, we're pretty good defensively," said head coach Gene Hill.  "The first period there, we came out.  I think we did have a little nervous jitters being in the new building, but then after the first period, in the second period, we really clamped down and we did a much better job defensively rebounding the ball.  So just that resilience.  Last year, sometimes, we would've fallen apart and started doing our own thing.  This year really showed a maturity level and some discipline there and staying together and staying with the gameplan and making sure we finish this off."

GSU outscored the Eagles 18-8 in the second quarter to take a one point lead heading into halftime.

The Panthers will make their regular season debut at the Convocation Center on Monday, November 7 against Agnes Scott.  Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.