The Lady Eagles avenged an early season loss to rival Georgia State on Saturday, taking down the Panthers, 71-61.

Georgia State used a blazing hot start to jump out to a 31-24 lead, but the Panthers’ lead grew to 11 points by halftime.

“I thought early on in that first half our tempo was too stagnant, too slow,” said head coach Anita Howard. “In the second half, we picked it up defensively and were able to hit some shots.”

The game would continue to go back and forth, but the Eagles finally took control when Ja’nya Love-Hill scored eight points to spark an 11-3 run.

“We couldn’t get in the scoring column and Love-Hill knew that, so we asked her to push the tempo,” said Howard. “I think she really put pressure on their transition defense.”

Love-Hill set a new season high, going 8-of-12 from the field en route to 17 important points.

2021 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Terren Ward scored 22 second second half points to record her fourth straight double-double.

“One thing about Terren is she’s not gonna ever stop,” said Howard. “So whether she has zero points in the first half, she’s not going to end the game with zero.”

The Lady Eagles now sit at 13-7 (4-4 SBC) on the season, which is good enough for No. 7 in the current Sun Belt standings.

GS will host Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina this week in two pivotal Sun Belt matchups.