PENSACOLA, FLA. -- Freshman Crystal Henderson led No. 8 seed Georgia State with 18 points and seven rebounds and the Panthers took a 68-67 lead with 29 seconds left, but No. 9 seed Appalachian State scored the final six points at the free throw line to win 73-68 in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship Wednesday at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Georgia State finishes the season at 15-15, while App State advances to Friday's quarterfinal round behind a career-high 36 points from Faith Alston, including the clinching free throws in the final 16 seconds.

The Panthers trailed 55-48 with eight minutes left before scoring 10 straight points to take a 58-55 lead with 6:19 to play. Henderson, the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, fed Christeina Bryan for a layup and then hit a 3-pointer to make it 55-53 at the 7:26 mark.

Then Mikyla Tolivert stole the ball in the backcourt and converted the layup to tie the game at 55-all, and after an App State missed shot, Mya Williams hit a 3-pointer to put GSU up 58-55.

Alston answered with a 3-pointer for App State, but Tolivert's layup regained a 60-58 lead for GSU. The teams went back and forth until Bryan's layup put the Panthers up 68-67 with 29 seconds on the clock.

Alston hit two free throws to give App State a 69-68 lead and then stole the ball at the other end. She was fouled with six seconds left, and after a lengthy review, the officials ruled the foul was intentional, giving App State two free throws and the ball to seal the win.

Tolivert had 15 points, five assists and two steals for Georgia State, while Bryan scored 10 points off the bench.

Game Notes
» The Panthers knocked down six of 14 long range attempts.
» The Panthers held the Mountaineers to only 36.7 percent shooting from the field.
» The Georgia State bench contributed 21 points.
» The Georgia State defense forced 16 turnovers.
» Crystal Henderson led the Panthers with 18 points and seven rebounds.
» Kamryn Dziak hit two 3-pointers to bring her career total to 121 and move into sixth place in GSU history.