MONROE – Three Panthers scored in double-figures as Georgia State topped ULM 59-49 on New Year's Eve at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Deasia Merrill led all scorers with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds.  Mikyla Tolivert added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with four rebounds, and Jenae Dublin scored 10 points with two three-pointers.

Alex Gitchenko scored seven points with five rebounds off the bench and drained two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help seal the game for Georgia State (7-8, 1-1 Sun Belt).  Mya Byrd led the team with five assists.

GSU jumped out to a 9-4 lead and held the Warhawks (5-8, 1-1) to just 1-of-10 shooting in the first 4:22 minutes.

The Panthers led 17-16 in the second with 7:05 left when Mikyla Tolivert scored six straight points on two jumpers and then two free throws to put GSU up 23-17.  A three-pointer by ULM cut the lead to three points when Jenae Dublin went on her own six-point run with a three-pointer and a layup with a foul to extend it to 29-20 GSU.

Up 29-23 at halftime, GSU made their first three baskets of the third quarter to extend their lead to 36-24 with 7:03 left to force a ULM timeout.  Deasia Merrill hit a layup with 8:10 left, and then Jenae Dublin drilled a three-pointer to put the Panthers up by 11.  After the Warhawks made a free throw, Merrill came through with another layup to extend the lead to 12.

The Warhawks fought back with a 6-0 run to pull within six points with 1:22 left in the third.  They pulled within five with 7:05 left in the fourth but would get no closer as Gitchenko drained the first of her two three-pointers with 6:43 left, sparking a 9-1 run to seal the game for good.

Georgia State will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 5 against South Alabama at the GSU Convocation Center.  Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.