STATESBORO - Georgia State's Deasia Merrill hit a buzzer-beating jumper after a steal as time expired to give the Panthers a 58-56 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball victory over visiting Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

The Panthers (7-9, 1-3 SBC) recorded their first Sun Belt win of the season, while Georgia Southern fell to 11-6 overall and 2-3 in the league with the loss.

In a game where Georgia State never trailed and led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, Georgia Southern battled back to tie the game, 56-56, on a Daeja Holmes three-pointer with 26 seconds left.

Georgia State's Kamryn Dziak missed an open three-pointer with four seconds left and the Eagles' Mya Burns grabbed the offensive rebound. As the bench and team for the Eagles were signaling for a time out, Merrill stole the ball from Burns and put up a shot that went in and gave the Panthers the victory.

Terren Ward and Mya Burns each scored 16 points for the Eagles in the contest, while Ashley Foster had 16 points to lead Georgia State.

Georgia Southern shot just 24.3 percent from the floor (17-for-70) but stayed in the game thanks to a season-high 25 offensive rebounds and an overall 53-36 rebounding edge over the Panthers.

Eagle of the Game
Ward was held scoreless by the Panthers in the first half, going 0-for-8 from the floor, but exploded in the second half for 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. She added 11 rebounds for her second career double-double and first of the season.

Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern's 24.3% field goal percentage was the lowest for the Eagles since the team shot 20.4% in an 81-38 loss at Georgia on December 21, 2018.

Quotables • HEAR FULL POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM COACH HOWARD
Head Coach Anita Howard on the second half vs. the first half against the Panthers
"We just hit shots. We turned up our intensity on defense, and just got back to Georgia Southern basketball."

On the final sequence
"It's hard to play on the road. And even on this last play, we shouldn't put ourselves into those predicaments. Hats off to Georgia State, they came out and battled, but we've got to do a better job on the road."

Next Up
The Eagles begin a five-game homestand on Thursday, January 27, hosting Troy for a 6 pm Sun Belt Conference contest against the Trojans.