GEORGIA STATE (0-0) vs. BERRY (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 6 | 6:30 p.m. | GSU Convocation Center

TV: ESPN+

THE TIPOFF: Led by Preseason All-Sun Belt guard Mikyla Tolivert and senior post player Deasia Merrill, Georgia State opens the 2023-24 season by hosting Berry College Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center. 

> Tolivert, the versatile junior guard made a big leap in her sophomore season, averaging a team-high 14.3 points in 2023-23, along with 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 2022-23. She ranked 10th in the Sun Belt in scoring and 12th in assists while leading Georgia State in scoring, assists, steals and free throw percentage and standing second in rebounding. She shot 82.7 percent from the free throw line to rank fourth in the Sun Belt. 

> Merrill, the 6-1 senior from Villa Rica, Ga., was second on the team with 13.6 points per game, along with a team-leading 7.2 rebounds. She ranked 11th in the Sun Belt in scoring and 10th in rebounding.

> The Panthers should receive a boost with the return of veteran guard Kamryn Dziak, who missed all of last season due to injury. Dziak averaged 4.8 points in 2021-22 and ranks in the top 10 in school history 101 career 3-pointers.

> Head coach Gene Hill's squad also returns junior post player Alyssa Phillip, averaged 3.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg but took a step forward at the end of last season, averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the field for the last four games. Senior post Christeina Bryan added 2.0 ppg and 1.6 rpg.

> The Panthers' cast of newcomers include experience transfers such as Patience Williams (USF), Mya Williams (Hutchinson C.C.), Erin Turral (Stony Brook), Aniya Palmer (Mississippi State) and Kaleigh Addie (Xavier) as well as promising freshmen like Crystal Henderson (Kell High School), Eghosa Obasuyi (Carrollton) and Aaliyah Hunt (Peachtree Ridge).

SERIES VS. BERRY: Georgia State and Berry, which plays in NCAA Division III, are meeting for the first time since 1982-83. Berry leads the series 3-0, including a 73-62 win in the last meeting on Feb. 5, 1983.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Georgia State opens the season with five straight home games at the GSU Convocation Center.

> After the opener vs. Berry, the Panthers host Western Michigan Friday in the inaugural Sun Belt-MAC Challenge and then welcome in-state rival Kennesaw State on Nov. 14 before hosting the GSU Thanksgiving Invitational with Bethune Cookman, Elon and Bradley Nov. 22-23.

> The four-game homestand is followed by five-straight road tests, including games at Georgia Tech and Clemson.