ATLANTA-- Georgia State heads to Coastal Carolina for a late morning matchup on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 11:00 a.m. at the HTC Center.
 

Georgia State and Coastal Carolina are meeting for the 19th time in program history. The Panthers are 5-13 against the Chanticleers after falling 63-74 on the road on March 1, 2024. 

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 is second in 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 38. She also leads the conference and ranks 12th in the nation for blocks per-game with 2.38. 

> 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 at 7th overall in the program for free throws made with 285. She recently surpassed her 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).

 

BIG TWO: Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Guard Miklya Tolivert is the Panthers' leading scorer with 13.1 ppg

> The senior guard's 82.7 free-throw percentage leads the team andranks second in the Sun Belt. 

> Tolivert averages 3.8 rpg, 2.13 apg and 26 steals, which is the third-most steals on the team. 

CRYSTAL CLEAR:  Sophomore leader Crystal Henderson, named to the 2024 preseason All-Sun Belt First Team, is third on the Panthers' leaderboard with 9.6 ppg,. She leads the team in assists (66) and steals (41). Henderson averages 2.6 rpg. 

> Her 41 steals leads the conference and ranks top 50 in the nation.  

> Henderson is third in  the Sun Belt for total assists (66). Her 4.1 assists per-game ranks fourth in the conference. She is also third in the conference with a 1.78 assist/turnover ratio. 

> Henderson leads the team in three-point percentage (36.6) after going 15-for-31 from deep. 

SHARP SHOOTERS: 

> Junior guard Kaleigh Addie is second on the Panthers leaderboard with 10.2 ppg. She has the best field goal accuracy on the team, averaging 42.6 percent in the paint. 

> Addie averages 1.9 rpg and 1.06 apg. 

> Senior Mya Williams continues to lead the Panthers' squad in three-pointers made through another year, totaling 23 made and averaging 30.7 percent from deep.  

> The senior guard is fourth on the Panthers' leaderboard with 8.3 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 (38, ranked 13th nationally) and blocks per-game (2.38 pg, ranked 12th nationally).  

> Matthews averages 7.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg with 15 assists. 

> The veteran forward is second on the team in field-goal accuracy, averaging 42.7 after going 50-for--117 in the paint. 

 In her second year at Georgia State, Patience Williams leads the Panthers in rebounding, averaging 5.7 rpg. She averages 4.6 ppg and totals 14 assists. 

> Williams has a perfect free-throw average after going 8-8 at the line. 

> The junior forward notched a career-high 18 points against Troy (Jan. 11). 

The Panthers head to rivals Georgia Southern (Jan. 18) before returning home to host coastal Carolina (Jan. 22) and Old Dominion (Jan. 25).