ATLANTA (Dec. 22) – Georgia State (7-2) and Georgia Tech (10-2) battled basket-for-basket for 35 minutes before visiting Tech turned a 44-42 lead with five minutes to play into a 62-50 win by making 9-of-10 free throws and hitting a pair of three-point baskets.
Georgia Tech (No. 24 AP) took advantage of its inside game with 17 points from 6-foot-2 Brigitte Ardossi and 16 points from 6-foot-5 Sasha Goodlett. Goodlett scored 11 of Tech's 15 points from 13:08 to 4:07 with points in the paint and free throws. Point guard Metra Walthour added 10 points with 6-6 free throws in the closing minutes. Team leader Alex Montgomery played 21 minutes off the bench to provide eight points and seven rebounds, including a clutch late three-pointer, in her comeback from her knee surgery last spring.
Georgia State, whose only losses this year are to a pair of top 25 teams, got 14 points from Danyiell McKeller and 13 points and seven assists from Angelique Burtts. The Panthers missed 6-foot-2 center Chan Harris, who is now out for the season with a broken foot. Brittany Graham provided a first-half spark by coming off the bench to hit three three-point baskets.
Both teams are nationally ranked in defense and steals, with State forcing 21 turnovers and making 13 steals today, while Tech forced 15 State turnovers and made seven steals. Tech could manage just 35.7% shooting against State's defense and State could hit just 32.8%. State was No. 9 in the NCAA before today with a 47.8% average, while Tech was shooting 44%. A big difference was Tech getting 21 free throw attempts and State only six. Tech had 15 of its 20 baskets today in the paint to go with its 19 free throws.
The teams traded baskets early with Tech getting a 10-8 advantage five minutes into the game. The Yellow Jackets went on a 8-2 run to open its largest lead at 18-10 with 11:11, but host State forged back into an 18-18 tie, the third of the game, at 6:15 with its 8-0 spurt. When McKeller banked home a shot at 2:55, State got a 26-25 lead. But, Tech responded to close out the first half with a 31-26 lead.
In the second half, the battle continued with a McKeller basket closing the score to 33-32 at 13:21. Every time Georgia State would close within 3 points, four times over the next eight minutes, big six-foot-five Goodlett would provide the answer down low for Tech.
Angelique Burtts brought State within 44-42 at 5:31 and the Panthers had a three-on-two break to forge another tie, but misfired up close. Tech began to pull away when Mo Bennett and Alex Montgomery made back-to-back three-point baskets at 3:18 and 2:40.
“The majority of the game we played well and we disrupted them with our defense,” Coach Lea Henry said. “But with their size, they got easier shots and put backs, as well as the free throws.”
“We were playing a top 25 team and were in a position to pull off a win with five minutes left, but at this point we want to win them and not just be in them, so there is no moral victory in this,” Henry said. “We didn't shoot the ball well today like we have all year in being in the top 10 in the country in field goal percentage and we missed a lot of open shots.”
“But, as a coach I am proud of how hard the team played and how focused and ready to play the team was coming off that unusual road trip and distractions,” Henry added.
"Danyiell's 1,000th point is well deserved. She works hard every day in practice and has elevated her game every year she has been here. She is very business-like in her approach and is always prepared."
Georgia State returns to action with its 16th annual holiday tournament on Dec. 29 and 30 here at the Sports Arena.
NOTEBOOK: Danyiell McKeller scored her 1,000th career point with 2:49 left in the game on a free throw...The 7-2 start marks the third time in school history to open with that record...Chan Harris, the starting center with her 11 points and 6 rebounds a game, will have surgery this week for a broken bone in her foot...This was the 33rd meeting between State and Tech, with Tech holding a 22-11 lead in the series now...Angelique Burtts had seven assists today, the third time this season she has provided seven or more to her teammates...Shay Rawls led the team today with 8 rebounds to go over the 600-career plateau (606) and needs three points for 500 in her career...Graham's trio of treys up her season total to 15.
