NORTHEASTERN RALLIES TO DEFEAT GEORGIA STATE, 46-42
HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 11,
2010) - Eighth-seeded Northeastern rallied from a 12-point deficit and defeated
#9 Georgia State 46-42 in the opening game of the 2010 Virginia 529 College
Savings Plan CAA Women's Basketball Championship at the JMU Convocation Center.
Northeastern (13-17)
advances to Friday's quarterfinal matchup against CAA regular-season champion
Old Dominion at noon. Georgia State ends its season at 15-15 with the loss.
The Huskies were led by
senior forward Kendra Walton (East Hartford, Conn.), who posted a double-double
with a team-high 14 points and game-high 11 rebounds. Senior forward Kim Carr
(Baltimore, Md.) chipped in nine points and seven boards.
The Panthers were led by
sophomore guard Crystal Johnson (Gainesville, Fla.), who scored a game-high 15
points on 7-of-17 FG shooting and senior forward Danyiell McKeller
(Fayetteville, N.C.), who totaled 12 points and five rebounds. Senior forward
Shay Rawls just missed a double-double with eight points and ten boards.
Both teams struggled with
their shooting from the floor, with NU hitting 39.5 percent of its field goal attempts
and GSU shooting just 28 percent. The Huskies had 15 turnovers in the first half, but
only gave the ball away eight times in the second frame. NU out-rebounded the
Panthers 43-30.
The Huskies jumped out to
an early 9-4 lead four minutes into the contest, but the Panthers responded
with a 7-2 run, capped off by a Traci Haltiwanger (Summerville, Ga.) three
pointer that tied the contest at 11-11 with 11:50 remaining in the first half.
With the game locked at 13,
the Panthers forced six turnovers and forward Shay Rawls' (Augusta, Ga.) layup
with 5:13 left in the period completed a 12-0 run, giving GSU its largest lead
of the half, 25-13.
NU held the Panthers
scoreless for 5:12 and closed to within four, but a McKeller lay-in off an
inbounds pass with a one second left gave GSU a 27-21 lead at the break.
The Panthers extended
their advantage to 35-28 with 13:34 remaining in the game before NU freshman
guard Afreyea Tolbert (Teaneck, N.J.) scored all seven of her points during a
10-2 Huskies' run to give Northeastern its first lead (38-37) since midway
through the first half.
GSU battled back as it
went on a 5-1 run to regain the lead at 42-41 with 2:53 remaining on a McKeller
jumper and a three-point play from Johnson.
Walton responded with a
layup with 2:22 left that gave the lead back to NU, 43-42, and then stole the inbounds
pass. Sophomore guard Brittany Wilson (Pawtucket, R.I.) finished the possession,
giving the Huskies a 45-42 advantage with two minutes to go.
The Panthers had five shots to tie the game or take
the lead down the stretch, but were held scoreless for the final 2:53 of the
contest.