Women’s basketball splits Homecoming games

The Georgia State women's basketball team fell victim to a Northeastern comeback Thursday but rebounded with a win Sunday over William and Mary to close the final Spring Homecoming week.

The Panthers (13-19, 4-7 CAA) started their spirit week by unveiling their pink uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness as they took on the Northeastern Huskies last Thursday night.

It was a game of runs as the Panthers and the Huskies battled back and forth all game long.

Northeastern opened the game with a 10-0 run which was answered by an 11-0 run by Georgia State. This set the tone for the rest of the game.

The Panthers brought a 31-22 lead into the half. Georgia State managed to keep the lead half way through the second period before the Huskies took control.

Georgia State was up 47-42 with 10 minutes left in the game when the Huskies began their 8-0 run. Northeastern ended the contest 61-53 with an 11-4 run.

"Obviously, I am disappointed we didn't finish what we started," Coach Lea Henry said. "We had a lot of wide-open, great looks, but everybody just didn't put the ball in the basket tonight."

Danyiell McKeller hit two career highs scoring 27 points and six steals. The rest of the starters combined for just 17 points.

The Huskies experienced balanced scoring with four of their five starters reaching double figures.

Senior forward Kim Carr led the way for the Huskies with 17 points off of 6-8 shooting. Sophomore guard Brittany Wilson added 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Panthers were held to 34 percent from the field and just 23.8 percent from the three-point line.

Georgia State closed out the last Spring Homecoming week with a win on Super Bowl Sunday over the William and Mary Tribe (63-60).

The game stayed close the entire 40 minutes which included 12 lead changes but the Panthers edged out the Tribe in the end.

"It was good to see we were resilient enough to bounce back from the tough loss on Thursday and get this win today," Henry said.

Crystal Johnson turned in a dominant performance earning a triple-double with 12 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and four steals.

"Crystal Johnson exemplified what we wanted to show today, toughness and focus," said Coach Lea Henry. "We needed to be aggressive and make things happen.

McKeller added 18 points and nine rebounds. 6-foot-3 freshman center Cody Paulk put on a defensive clinic, blocking five shots in her 24 minutes off of the bench.

Sophomore guard Janine Aldridge shot the lights out for the Tribe, hitting on 7-14 attempts from three-point range. 

Senior guard Brittany Graham struggled last week shooting just 3-15 (.20) from the three-point line. Graham is shooting 41 percent from the arc this season making her the third best shooter in the CAA.

The next home game will be held Thursday February 18th as the Panthers take on Old Dominion at 6 p.m. in the Sports Arena.