ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia State women's basketball outrebounded visiting Georgia Southern by more than 30 boards in claiming a 71-56 Sun Belt Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

The Panthers (5-13, 1-6 SBC) picked up their first conference win of the year in halting a nine-game losing streak, while Georgia Southern (3-15, 0-7 SBC) suffered its 12th loss in a row. Georgia State also captures a point in the 2017-18 Southern vs. State Rivalry Series. Georgia State currently leads this year's Rivalry Series 7.5 to 0.5. The two teams will meet again on February 17th in Statesboro at 2 p.m. 

Alexis Brown hit a pair of three-pointers in the opening two minutes to give the Eagles an early 6-2 lead, but Georgia Southern missed its next 10 shots from the floor as Georgia State climbed back in front, 11-9. Jakayvea Akins' bucket with 21 seconds left in the quarter tied the score at 11-all, but Kierra Henry canned a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Panthers a 14-11 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hailey Dias-Allen hit three straight buckets to keep the Eagles within three, but Georgia State went on a 14-3 run at the end of the quarter to take a 40-25 lead into the break.

The Eagles cut into the Georgia State lead in the third quarter and got the game into single digits early in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by Nakol Franks that made the score 57-48 with 8:25 left in the contest, but Georgia State went on a 7-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to extend the lead to double digits again, and the Panthers hit 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

Alexis Brown hit 4-of-8 three-pointers en route to her team-high 13 points, while Trellanie English-Lurry had 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Georgia State was led offensively by Kierra Henry's 18 points, while Shay Fluker had 13 points and Janessa Muprhy chipped in 11 points.

"Well the whole basketball game boils down to one thing, we got our rebounded 56-24," Georgia Southern Head Coach Kip Drown said. "They dominated the glass and really started doing that in the second quarter. We had some defensive transition breakdowns, but it all comes down to the glass. We just got pounded on the glass."

Georgia State (-4.7) and Georgia Southern (-9.6) came into the contest ranking 11th and 12th in the Sun Belt in rebounding margin, but the Panthers outrebounded the Eagles 28-9 in the first half, and finished the game with a +32 margin, including a 25-7 margin on the offensive glass. Francesca Minali's game-high 18 rebounds for the Panthers approached the 24 team rebounds for the Eagles.

"We didn't get bodies on people," Coach Drown said. "They're very athletic, and we talked before the game about the number of kids they have that offensive rebound, and they did it from every spot. We will continue to work until we get this thing right. We've got to compete harder. I'm blown away that they got on the glass the way that they did. I really didn't expect that."

The Eagles shot 35.2 percent from the floor (19-of-54) while hitting 10-of-27 three-pointers, setting a season-high in three-point baskets made. Georgia Southern hit 8-of-12 free throws (67 percent). Georgia State hit 35.8 percent from the floor (24-of-67), while hitting 5-of-23 three-pointers (21.7 percent). The Panthers did hit 18-of-22 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent).

Georgia Southern returns to action on Thursday, hosting Texas State in a 5 p.m. Sun Belt Conference contest at Hanner Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and will also be a one of the Sun Belt's Suits & Sneakers games in conjunction with the 2017-18 Coaches vs. Cancer Initiative.