KENNESAW -
Deasia Merrill scored a career-high 22 points but Georgia State fell to Kennesaw State 69-63 at the KSU Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
Merrill's 22 points topped her previous high of 21 set against Bellarmine on November 26. The redshirt junior from Villa Rica shot 8-of-12 from the field to reach double-figures in her seventh straight game and grabbed 12 rebounds to record her third double-double.
Mya Byrd and
Mikyla Tolivert both scored 12 points with Byrd shooting 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three.
Facing their in-state rival for the first time since 2019, Georgia State (4-7) trailed 51-49 after three quarters before KSU (2-6) exploded with a 14-3 run to take a 13 point lead as GSU's offense failed to convert a field goal in the first six minutes of the fourth. The Panthers rallied with a 9-1 run on three layups by
Deasia Merrill and a three-pointer by
Mya Byrd to pull within five with 44 seconds left but would get no closer.
GSU trailed 23-18 in the second quarter when a three-pointer by
Jenae Dublin and lay-ups by
Zay Dyer and
Mikyla Tolivert gave them an 8-0 run to take a 26-23 lead with 4:39 left. Both teams then traded leads and were tied at 31 heading into halftime.
Georgia State outrebounded the Owls 39-34 and tallied six blocks but doomed themselves with 21 turnovers.
The Panthers will return to the GSU Convocation Center on Monday, December 19 to face North Alabama. Tipoff is at 12 p.m.
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