The Panthers (8-10, 2-5 SBC) avenged an 82-57 loss to the Eagles just 10 days prior with the victory. Georgia Southern falls to 9-10 overall and 2-5 in the league with the setback.
Georgia State forced six first-quarter turnovers in taking a 22-11 lead after the first quarter. The Eagles clamped down defensively and allowed the Panthers just five points in the second quarter, but Georgia State still led at the break, 27-22.
The Eagles knocked down four of five threes in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, 42-41, heading into the fourth. The fourth quarter alone saw six lead changes and three ties. Georgia Southern led by three, 60-57, in the final minute but Mya Williams hit a game-tying three-pointer with 34 seconds left to send the game into the first overtime.
Georgia State looked to have the game sewn up in the first overtime, leading by four points with 15 seconds left, but Paris Gaines hit a three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left, then Nicole Gwynn stole the inbounds pass and got a time out called with 1.4 seconds remaining. On the inbounds lob pass to the paint, Gaines was fouled and hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 68-all and send it to a second overtime.
The Eagles had a four-point lead in the second overtime period in the first minute and a half, but the Panthers went on an 8-2 run to take a 76-74 lead with 50 seconds left. Shanti Simmons' layup with five seconds remaining tied the game at 76-all and sent it to the third overtime, where the Panthers ended up hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor for the five-point victory.
Simmons led a quartet of Eagles in double figures wih 22 points, while McKenna Eddings added 20 points. Nicole Gwynn chipped in 13 points and Gaines came off the bench to add 10. Georgia State also placed four players in double figures, led by 21 points from Crystal Henderson and 20 points from Mikyla Tolivert.
Eagle of the Game
Simmons recorded her first double-double as an Eagle, adding 11 rebounds - seven offensive - to go with her season-high 22 points. She hit 10-of-16 shots from the floor and also added three assists.
Stat of the Game
This was the longest home game in Georgia Southern women's basketball history. It was only the second triple overtime game in the program's history, joining the 88-81 triple overtime loss to Louisiana in the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Tournament in New Orleans on March 6 of that year. The only other longer game was a quadruple overtime 104-101 win at East Tennessee State on January 12, 1998.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the triple-overtime game today
"What a game. I'm really proud of our team's fight down the stretch. I've never been a part of a triple overtime game, I know that doesn't happen often. Typically, whatever lineup you use to close out a close game like that, when you go into overtime you typically try to ride that lineup out for as long as you can. Several of those players played a ton of minutes. Paris [Gaines] played 30 minutes and she didn't even play in the first half. It's so tough, because you go back and look at the first quarter, when it was 22-11 and you lose in triple overtime. it's tough, but I was really proud of our fight."
On the play of Paris Gaines (10 pts, 8 rbs, 6 ast) and Shanti Simmons
"Paris and Shanti, they were huge. We were really struggling to score against their zone. I think we finally did start making some outside shots late, but for the majority of the game we were struggling from three and those two really opened things up offensively and they played off of each other well, especially against their zone. Big games for both of them."
Next Up
Georgia Southern hits the road for a Sun Belt matchup at Marshall on Wednesday, January 22 at 6 p.m. in Huntington, W. Va.