BOONE – Three Panthers scored in double-figures as Georgia State nearly overcame a 10 point deficit before falling 63-55 to Appalachian State at the Holmes Center despite a late rally on Thursday afternoon.

Mikyla Tolivert led all scorers with 16 points and 11 rebounds to earn her second straight double-double.  The junior from Melbourn, Fla. is averaging 19.7 points in her last seven games.

Freshman Zay Dyer tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for her fifth career double-double, and Deasia Merrill scored 10 points with seven rebounds.

Georgia State (10-16, 4-9 Sun Belt) shot 41.2 percent from the field, outrebounded Appalachian State 46-29 and held them to 34.5 percent shooting but couldn't overcome 21 turnovers and 10 three-pointers by the Mountaineers (9-15, 5-8).

Down 6-2 with 5:45 left in the first quarter, GSU went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-6 lead.  The Panthers led 15-12 at the end of the first and 22-14 with 6:31 left in the second when the Mountaineers went on a 15-4 run to take a 29-26 lead.

The Panthers trailed 30-27 when Mikyla Tolivert made a layup with five seconds left to pull them within one at halftime.  Then Nyla Jean opened the third quarter with a layup to put GSU back ahead, and after both teams exchanged baskets, Deasia Merrill made two free throws to extend their lead to three.

Both teams were tied at 40 with 3:27 left when App State started to take control with 9-0 run.

GSU trailed 52-42 with 8:38 left in the fourth when the Panthers mounted their comeback.  A Deasia Merrill layup and Mya Byrd jumper cut the deficit to six, and then after a Mountaineer free throw, Zay Dyer cut it to five with a layup.  Mikyla Tolivert made a free throw and then connected with Merrill to pull the Panthers within two with 3:34 left, but the Panthers would get no closer.

Georgia State will face Old Dominion on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Norfolk, Virginia.  Tipoff is at 2 p.m.