Nov. 23, 2010
Final Stats
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When the Lady Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman women's basketball took command of the game just under five minutes in, it looked like a lopsided B-CU win in the making. However, the Panthers of Georgia State battled back to take a three-point lead at half. In the second half, they took advantage of B-CU's short bench, leading to the 70-49 B-CU loss.
The teams battled it out close in the first five, but B-CU made a move, taking the lead at 14:40 in the first period, building up a 12-point lead in just under three minutes. GSU crept back into the game, but B-CU scores on three consecutive possessions created a little breathing room, helping to rebuild a double-digit lead with just under four on the clock, but that was the last scoring of the half for B-CU, as GSU clawed their way on top with a 13-0 run to close out the first period, heading into the locker room on top 36-33 after hitting a three with just six seconds remaining.
The Lady Wildcats had offensive struggles coming out of the half, with GSU steadily building a lead. The game broke open when B-CU went over five minutes without a score and GSU put down 12 in that same period. Another four-minute drought sealed the game, as Georgia State went on to win 70-49.
"At the end of the first half, it seemed like we ran out of gas," said Head Coach Vanessa Blair," and it seemed like we never recovered from that. The job we did in the first half versus the job we did in the second half; it's really night and day."
Though the Lady Wildcats scored well in the first half, shooting 43% from the field and 87.5% from the free throw line, they only scored 16 points in the second half, shooting just over 20% in both field goals and free throws. In the first half, B-CU was able to keep GSU away from the high-percentage shots inside, and make handful of their own, but the Panthers slipped into the pain in the second, outscoring B-CU in the paint a total of 42-22.
Georgia State's Angelique Burtts had a star performance for the Panthers, scoring 23 points to lead the eleven players on the court for GSU, cutting dangerously close to a second triple-double on the season, with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Just seven players entered the game for B-CU, shorthanded due to injuries and transfers not yet able to play.
" Inexperience is really killing us right now," said Blair of playing four underclassmen, including three freshmen. "We're in a tough spot right now with a lot of injuries."
Leading the way, Jasmine Daniels put down 17 points with seven rebounds. Demetria Frank also grabbed seven boards, chipping in 15 points of her own, along with five steals.
The Lady Wildcats (1-2) continue their early home slate, 3 p.m., Saturday, against Jacksonville State, before hitting the road until the last three days of the month, with five straight games away from Moore Gymnasium.
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