Strong Second Half Leads Georgia State Past JMU

Wednesday, January 31

Atlanta, Ga.

6:30 p.m.

James Madison University

15-7,7-3Sun Belt

Georgia State

12-8,6-4Sun Belt

James Madison

Georgia St.

1/31/2024 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ATLANTA – Georgia State shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the field and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free throw line in the second half to roll past James Madison, 82-72, inside the GSU Convocation Center on Wednesday night in Sun Belt Conference women's basketball action.

The Panthers (12-8, 6-4 SBC) outshot the Dukes (15-7, 7-3 SBC), 48.4 percent (30-of-62) to 41.8 percent (28-of-67), the highest clip by a JMU opponent in 2023-24.

Redshirt sophomore Peyton McDaniel paced all players with 19 points, knocked down 4-of-8 (.500) from three and grabbed eight rebounds. Junior Ashanti Barnes recorded 16 points off the bench, while redshirt junior Kseniia Kozlova finished with eight points and six boards. Classmate Jamia Hazell dished out a season-high six assists and Amira Williams notched a season-best seven points.

Georgia State had five players score in double figures, led by Kaleigh Addie with 17, followed by Crystal Henderson (15), Christeina Bryan (14), Mikyla Tolivert (12) and Mya Williams (11). Tolivert recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds to go along with her offensive production.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

Georgia State jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes, with five of the Panthers' points coming off JMU turnovers.
Minutes later, the Dukes responded with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of triples by McDaniel to give James Madison a 16-11 advantage late in the period.
GSU closed out the first with a 6-0 run in the final 2:28 to head into the second on top, 19-18.

Second Quarter

Tied at 23-23, the Panthers scored seven unanswered points in less than a minute to take a 30-23 lead and force a JMU timeout at the 5:53 mark.
GSU was held scoreless for 4:23 of action, which coincided with a stretch of three consecutive buckets from Barnes as the Dukes trailed 31-28.
Graduate student Carole Miller connected on a three-pointer from the wing at the buzzer to put JMU ahead 36-35 at the break.
Barnes finished the half with 12 points on 5-of-6 (.833) from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from long range.

Third Quarter

Georgia State shot 5-of-11 (.455) from the field for a 47-43 edge at the media timeout.
The Panthers continued to slowly pull away, going ahead 57-50 with one quarter to play.

Fourth Quarter

GSU used a 7-0 run to make it 66-62 and force a JMU timeout with 5:47 remaining.
The Panthers lead ballooned to 75-61 at the 2:08 mark.
The Dukes fought back to get within seven (75-68) with 1:13 left, but Georgia State cruised the rest of the way for the 82-72 victory.

GAME NOTES

James Madison leads Georgia State 13-2 in the all-time series.
The Panthers held the advantage in rebounds (37-34), points in the paint (42-34) and fast break points (20-9). GSU's 42 points in the paint are the most by a JMU opponent this season.
JMU was out-rebounded for the third time this season and the second time against a Sun Belt opponent.
The Dukes shot 10-of-25 (.400) from three, the second-most makes by the team in 2023-24. James Madison went 12-for-27 (.444) versus Longwood on Nov. 15.
Georgia State's 30 makes from the field tied for the second-most among JMU opponents this season, behind Troy's 33.
The Panthers' 82 points are the third-most by any team against James Madison in the 2023-24 campaign and second-most against league competition.

UP NEXT
The Dukes complete their road trip at Marshall on Saturday, Feb. 3. Game time is set for 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.