ATLANTA –
Mikyla Tolivert scored a career-high 26 points but Georgia State fell 68-57 to Coastal Carolina at the GSU Convocation Center on Thursday night.
Tolivert's 26 points topped her previous high of 22 against St. Bonaventure on November 25 and Chattanooga on November 30. The sophomore from Melbourne, Fla. made eight field goals, equalling her career-high set at James Madison on January 14, on a career-high 17 attempts and grabbed six rebounds with three assists. She also set career-highs in made free throws and attempts, shooting 10-of-12 at the line.
Zay Dyer added 10 points with seven rebounds, and
Nyla Jean scored nine points, including a three-pointer from the center-court logo with 4:20 left in the second quarter.
Georgia State (8-12, 2-5 Sun Belt) made four of their first five baskets to open the game and shot 61.5 percent in the first quarter but still trailed 21-18 after the opening period.
Coastal Carolina (9-9, 4-3) led 30-27 with 4:04 left in the second when GSU went on an 8-0 run to take a 35-30 lead into halftime. A layup by
Alyssa Phillip with 3:35 left sparked the run and cut the deficit to one, and then
Nyla Jean hit a jumper with 3:07 left to put the Panthers ahead before
Mikyla Tolivert hit four free throws to extend their lead to five.
Tolivert opened up the third quarter with a layup to extend Georgia State's lead to seven, but the Chanticleers went on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 41-39.
The Panthers fought back as a Tolivert layup with 6:06 left evened the score. Then after four CCU free throws, Tolivert came through again with a three-point play with 3:49 left and a free throw with 3:12 left to make it 45-45 before a three-pointer by Coastal with 2:56 left put them up for good.
CCU then pulled away in the fourth, outscoring GSU 16-8 as the Panther offense shot just 2-of-14 in the final period and failed to convert a field goal in the first 5:56.
Georgia State will face Old Dominion at the GSU Convocation Center on Saturday, January 21. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
