Georgia State women’s basketball defeats Massachusetts, 71-66

By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor

In the opening contest of the Hoops and Holiday Classic, the host Georgia State women’s basketball team earned a 71-66 win over Massachusetts on Friday at the GSU Arena.

The Panthers improve to 5-3 on the season while the Minutewomen drop to 5-5.

Makeba Ponder and Kayla Nolan each had a game-high 17 points in the victory. Brittany Logan grabbed a team-high 16 rebounds and scored 16 points for the double-double.

Georgia State outrebounded UMASS 43-31 in the win and shot a better percentage from the field 46.3 percent to 41.7 percent. The Panthers made nine out of 18 three-pointers while the Minutewomen converted on only six out of 16 attempts.

Kim Pierre-Louis had a game-high 17 points for UMASS while Rashida Timbilla’s 15 rebounds were a game-high as well. Timbiella also scored 12 points for a double-double

After trailing throughout the majority of the game, the Minutewomen continued to battle through the second half and a three-pointer by Cierra Dillard at the 3:02 mark gave the road team the 62-61 lead. Dillard finished with 15 points.

The Panthers responded on their next possession with a three-point shot  of their own on the right side courtesy of Ponder to retake the lead 64-62 with 2:47 left in the game.

A jumper on the right side by Logan extended Georgia State’s lead, 67-62, with 1:11 left. However, UMASS continued to battle and a layup by Timbilla cut the lead to 67-66 with 27 seconds to go. TImbilla missed the subsequent free throw after being fouled on the shot attempt.

Converted free throws by Ponder and Nolan sealed the victory for Georgia State.

After a sluggish offensive start for both squads, the play on the court improved with the Panthers taking a 35-31 halftime lead.

Nolan had a team-high 11 first-half points for Georgia State while Logan nabbed a game-high seven rebounds along with eight points. Overall, the Panthers shot 43.3 percent from the field in the first half, making five out of 11 three-pointer attempts.

Massachusetts’ Emily Mital scored 12 of her 14 total points in the first half while Timbilla grabbed seven rebounds and scored six points for the Minutewomen. UMASS shot 38.2 from the field in the half.