ATLANTA-- After falling to Georgia Southern three days earlier, the Panthers look to bounce back against Troy at home on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center.
Georgia State and Troy are meeting for the 47th time in program history. The Panthers are 26-20 in the series after beating the Trojans 90-89 on the road on Dec. 31, 2023.
TOP STORY LINES:
> Georgia State clinched its first conference win at Texas State after three Panthers (Mikyla Tolivert, Crystal Henderson and Mya Williams) scored in double figures to lead the Panthers to a 59-51 win over the Bobcats. After trailing throughout the game, GSU went on a 22-6 run in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
>The Panthers defeated Sewanee 107-49 to mark one of the largest margins of victory in program history (9th in program history).
> Georgia State opened the season with three Power 5 opponents, including Georgia Tech, Georgia and Alabama. Its season was highlighted by a 66-60 upset over Georgia.
STATE IN THE SUN BELT:
> Led by Mikyla Tolivert, who leads the conference in free-throw percentage, the Panthers rank third in the conference in overall free throw percentage, averaging 73.3.
> The Panthers are second in the Sun Belt in blocks per-game, averaging 4.1 pg. Mahogany Matthews, who leads the Panthers in blocks, also leads the conference and ranks 13 in the nation for total blocks with 35. She also leads the conference and ranks 11th in the nation for blocks per-game with 2.33.
> Led by Mya Williams, the Panthers rank fifth in the conference for three-pointers per game (7.2).
> The Panthers also rank top 10 in the Sun Belt for steals pg (3rd/ 10.3), turnovers forced per-game (4th/ 19.27) assist/turnover ratio (9th/ 0.77) and three-point percentage (7th/ 29.8).
> The Panthers finished the 2023-24 season ranking third in the Sun Belt in blocks per game (3.2) and bench points (23.7), which finished 38 in the nation. The Panthers also finished fourth in the conference in assists per game (13.6) and steals (9.6).
TRACKING THE RECORD:
> Senior Mikyla Tolivert stands tied for 7th overall in the program for free throws made with 284. She is currently tied with assistant coach Patechia Hartman.
> Tolivert joined the Panthers' thousand-point club after scoring her thousandth career point in the Panthers' win over Western Carolina (Nov. 19).
> Tolivert hit the record book in numerous occasions during the 2023-24 season, ranking third overall in program history for career free-throw percentage (80.7). She entered the single-game records five times last season; twice for single-game points, twice for single game free-throws made and once for single-game assists.
> Transfer Mya Williams totaled 56 three-pointers last season to take the sixth overall spot in program history for single-season three pointers.
BIG TWO: Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Guard Miklya Tolivert is the Panthers' leading scorer with 13.0 ppg
> The senior guard's 82.4 free-throw percentage leads the team and the Sun Belt.
> Tolivert averages 3.8 rpg, 2.07 apg and 25 steals, which is the second-most steals on the team.
> Senior Mikyla Tolivert joined the Panthers' thousand-point club after scoring her thousandth career point in the Panthers' win over Western Carolina (Nov. 19).
CRYSTAL CLEAR: Sophomore leader Crystal Henderson, named to the 2024 preseason All-Sun Belt First Team, is third on the Panthers' leaderboard with 9.4 ppg,. She leads the team in assists (62) and steals (37). Henderson averages 2.5 rpg.
> Her 37 steals leads the conference and ranks top 50 in the nation.
> Henderson is third in the Sun Belt for total assists (62), and assists per-game (4.1). She is also third in the conference with a 1.72 assist/turnover ratio. She has played the most minutes out of all Sun Belt players.
> Henderson is second on the team in three-point percentage (35.1) after going 13-37 from deep.
SHARP SHOOTERS:
> Junior guard Kaleigh Addie is second on the Panthers leaderboard with 10.0 ppg. She has the best field goal accuracy on the team, averaging 42.1 percent in the paint.
> Addie averages 1.9 rpg and 1.0 apg.
> Senior Mya Williams continues to lead the Panthers' squad in three-pointers made through another year, totaling 23 made and averaging 31.3 percent from deep.
> The senior guard is fourth on the Panthers' leaderboard with 8.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg and seven assists.
THE BIGS:
> Graduate transfer Mahogany Matthews leads the team and Sun Belt, and is top 20 in the nation, for blocks (35, ranked 13th nationally) and blocks per-game (2.33 pg, ranked 11th nationally).
> Matthews averages 8.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg with 15 assists.
> The veteran forward leads the team in field-goal accuracy, averaging 43.0 after going 49-114 in the paint.
> In her second year at Georgia State, Patience Williams leads the Panthers in rebounding, averaging 5.6 rpg. She averages 3.7 ppg and totals 14 assists.
> Williams has a perfect free-throw average after going 8-8 at the line.
The Panthers hit the road for contests at Coastal Carolina (Jan. 16) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 18) beofre returning home to host coastal Carolina (Jen. 22) and Old Dominion (Jan. 25).
