WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
* Alabama rallied to defeat GSU 72-56.
* GSU led after one quarter (20-14), but Alabama edged ahead at half (32-28). It was 53-45 after 3 quarters and 58-48 with 4 and a half minutes to play when Alabama pulled away.
* Georgia State will play host to its annual Thanksgiving Classic Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the Sports Arena after playing 3 of its first 4 games on the road.
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. – Alabama came from behind to defeat Georgia State 72-56 Tuesday night at Foster Auditorium in a game much closer than the final score might indicate.
Visiting Georgia State surprised Alabama early and grew its advantage over the final four minutes of the opening period to lead 20-14 after the first quarter. But, when Georgia State missed eight straight shots in the second quarter, host Alabama took full advantage by going on a 14-0 run to make it 28-20. Georgia State rallied and Alabama went into the locker room clinging to its narrow 32-28 lead.
In the third quarter, Alabama got its first double-figure lead, but pesky Georgia State battled back to make it 53-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 4 and a half minutes to play it was still 58-48 before Alabama continued to pour in lay-ups and pulled away as GSU made Alabama play its starters to the finish.
Georgia State (1-3) held a rebound advantage over Alabama, 48-47, and kept the Crimson Tide (4-0) well under its season average of 96.7 points per game. Georgia State committed 23 turnovers and made just 9 of 18 free throws to hurt its chances for a major upset. Georgia State shot just 31.3 percent in the second half (10 of 32) as they took one more shot than Alabama (13 of 31). GSU finished at 33.3 percent from the field for the game (21 of 63). The Panthers didn't help themselves by shooting just 5 of 21 (23.8%) outside the 3-point line.
GSU got 14 points from Alaysia Mitchell, 10 from Tatianna Jackson and 10 more points and a team-best seven rebounds from Ashlee Cole. Madison Newby added nine points and five rebounds. GSU's leading scorer, Makeba Ponder, struggled at 1 of 10 from the floor and 1 of 8 from behind the arc in her 27 minutes.
Alabama had four starters in double figures with Nikki Hegstetter netting 14 points, one more than Meoshonti Knight. Quanetria Bolton and Karyla Middlebrook each scored 12 points. Alabama came in averaging 12 blocks per game, but swatted down just four against GSU, the same number GSU had against the Crimson Tide.
“We turned the ball over way too much and obviously, we have got to put the ball in the basket more often, but we can be proud of how hard we played and some good things we are doing,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “We are coming together and getting better each game we're playing and I feel bad for them that we have a 1-3 record to show for it. Next, we need to start getting some wins to add to our confidence.”
Georgia State works through Thanksgiving Week to get ready to host its annual Thanksgiving Classic Saturday and Sunday afternoons against Howard and Charlotte, while Mercer rounds out that field.
Check out Michael Wade's Photo Album from this game.
