After Two Straight Wins, Panthers Host Troy Saturday Afternoon

GEORGIA STATE (8-9, 2-3 SBC) vs. TROY (15-7, 6-2 SBC)
Saturday, Jan. 29 • 2 p.m. • GSU Sports Arena

TICKETS: GeorgiaStateSports.com/Tix | 404-413-4020
COVERAGE: ESPN+

THE TIPOFF

• Winners of two straight games, Georgia State (8-9, 2-3 Sun Belt) hosts one of the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference as second-place Troy (15-7, 6-2 Sun Belt) visits the GSU Sports Arena Saturday. The game tips at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

• The Panthers have earned back-to-back Sun Belt wins over Georgia Southern and South Alabama, both in dramatic fashion.

• In Thursday's 72-66 overtime win against the Jaguars, Georgia State led most of the game before South Alabama forced overtime with a 3-pointer with just one second left in regulation. But the Panthers quickly regained control in the extra period as Hannah Sadler (8 points), Alex Gitchenko (5 points) and Tehya Lyons (4 points) combined to outscore the Jags 17-11.

• Last Saturday against Georgia Southern, Georgia State led the entire way until a 3-pointer by the Eagles tied game at 56-all with 26 seconds left. With the clock running down, Georgia State point guard Tehya Lyons found Kamryn Dziak in the corner. Dziak missed the 3-pointer, but Deasia Merrill ripped the rebound away from Georgia Southern's Mya Burns, and her short jumper from the baseline was good, giving the Panthers the 58-56 victory.

• The matchup with Troy concludes Georgia State's five-game homestand. GSU will play its first road game since Jan. 8 next Saturday, Feb. 5 at Georgia Southern. The Panthers then return home for games against Coastal Carolina (Feb. 10) and Appalachian State (Feb. 12), giving them seven out of eight games at the GSU Sports Arena.

• Ashley Foster leads GSU in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (4.3 rpg), and she is second on the team in assists (29) and steals (24).

• Foster has averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds and three steals in the back-to-back victories, including 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds last game vs. South Alabama. She has reached double figure scoring 10 times this season, including a career-high 19 points at Florida to open the season.

• Kamryn Dziak has hit five 3-pointers in the Panthers' back-to-back wins over Georgia Southern and South Alabama. She leads the team with 30 treys this season and has 93 for her career. Dziak is third in the Sun Belt with 1.8 treys per game.

• Hannah Sadler went 6-for-7 from the field to score 12 points in the win over South Alabama. She scored eight of GSU's 17 points in the overtime session.

• Georgia State has already used nine different starting lineups, with 10 different players starting at least one game. No Panther has started every games, and only two (Kamryn Dziak and Alyssa Phillip) have played in every game.

SERIES NOTES vs. TROY

• Georgia State holds a 25-16 lead in the series with Troy, which began in 1975-76. The Panthers are 12-5 against Troy at the GSU Sports Arena.

• Troy has won four in a row in the series, including all three meetings last season (91-70 in Atlanta and 79-60 and 84-78 at Troy). Georgia State's last win over the Trojans was in 2018-19, when the Panthers swept the season series, 84-80 (home) and 85-70 (away).

• The teams were previously conference foes in the TAAC/Atlantic Sun Conference from 1997-98 through 2004-05. Georgia State dominated the series in that era, 16-3, including 13 straight wins over the Trojans.

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