Women's Basketball Sun Belt Institutional Media Relations

Georgia State, Troy Pick Up Wins on Monday Night

Monday, Nov. 24

Troy Escapes Florida A&M with Win
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Both teams shot poorly and had turnover issues, but the Troy women’s basketball team won the battle on the glass, and in turn won the game, 65-59, over Florida A&M at the Al Lawson Center on Monday night.

Troy (2-2) held Florida A&M to 25 percent shooting (8-of-32) in the second half and erased a slim halftime deficit quickly. The Trojans were down by three at the break, but tied the game just 49 seconds into the half. The 25 percent mark by Florida A&M wasn’t much lower than either team’s overall percentage as both sides shot 32 percent in the game.

The poor shooting and a combined 43 turnovers, 23 by Florida A&M, kept the game close as neither team led by more than eight points. Troy outrebounded the Lady Rattlers, 55-48, but the margin was greater than that at times. Included in Troy’s 55 boards were 27 on the offensive end, good for 15 second-chance points.

Ronita Garrett led the Trojans with 19 points and 14 rebounds, posting her third double-double in four games this season and the 10th of her career. Aissata Maiga, after a career-high 19 points in Friday’s win, backed it up with 14 points despite playing only 19 minutes and fouling out. Kristen Emerson had a career-high 14 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end.

“We’re certainly glad to get the win, but we’ve got to get a lot better,” Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. “We did win in a lot of categories, rebounding being one of them, but we’ve got to improve a lot if we’re going to beat some of the teams we’ve got coming up.”

Troy held Florida A&M (1-3) to 1-of-10 shooting over the final 5:30 of the game to help secure the win. Fouls were a key, especially for Florida A&M, who committed 18 team fouls in the second half. Troy converted on just 12-of-20 second-half free throws and 17-of-27 overall. However, Simiah Blount made 3-of-4 in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

Olivia Antilla’s 18 points off the bench led Florida A&M. Antilla hit two of Florida A&M’s four 3-pointers while Troy made just two as a team. Khaderja Young had 16 points for the Lady Rattlers, eight of them from the free throw line.

The Trojans return to floor this Sunday when they host Savannah State at Trojan Arena at 2 p.m. That game will be the start of three straight at home for the Trojans.

Georgia State Races to 101-55 Win over Thomas University
ATLANTA - Georgia State raced to a 101-55 win over Thomas University in Monday night's home opener at the GSU Sports Arena.

Five Panthers scored in double figures, while 15 players saw action for Georgia State. GSU improves to 2-0 heading into Friday's Thanksgiving Tournament.

The 100-point game was the 11th in school history and first since Dec. 14, 2000 vs. Morris Brown (105-45). The46-point margin tied the 12-largest and was the most since a 46-point win over Towon on Feb. 11, 2007.

Georgia State turned a 13-13 tie into a 22-13 lead, then grew that to 35-19 with nine minutes in the first half. The first 20-point lead came at 43-22 at 6:06 and the score grew to 52-27 at the half, a 25-point margin.

GSU's defense forced 27 turnovers, made 17 steals and held Thomas to 28.1 percent shooting for the game. The host Panthers shot 46 percent from the field, hit 47 percent outside the 3-point line (8 of 17) and made 82.1 percent of its free throws (23 of 28).

Freshman Makeba Ponder scored 16 points in 14 minutes off the bench to lead Georgia State. Senior center Brittany Logan added 12 points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Reserve guard Ashlee Cole hit 12 points in 12 minutes off the bench. Point guard Alisha Andrews nailed 13 points, had five assists and four steals. Senior Kayla Nolan added another 10 points for GSU.

Thomas University, an NAIA school in Thomasville, Ga., slips to 4-4 on their season. Courtney Saunds led the Night Hawks with 21 points and six rebounds.

"A lot of people contributed in a lot of ways, but we have a long way to go to get to playing the time of basketball we are capable of playing," veteran coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "Overall, the team played hard and it shows the depth and versatility we will have this season."