ATLANTA, GA --- Despite senior center Victoria Gonzales' third double-double of the season, the Howard women's basketball team fell to the Georgia State Panthers in the first game of the Georgia State Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

Gonzales led all players with 24 points (including going 10-of-12 from the free throw line) and 15 rebounds to record her third double-double in five games after missing Howard's last game with a leg injury. Junior forward Sydni Johnson and sophomore guard Tajzhane Dopson also had strong games for Howard (0-6) - Johnson scored ten points and grabbed seven rebounds while Dopson had her best game as a Bison, logging career highs in points (nine), rebounds (nine), steals (five) and assists (two).

Gonzales and Johnson scored the first four points of the game and half of Howard's first eight as the Bison led 8-5 halfway through the first quarter. Georgia State (2-3) fought back to the tune of a 13-4 run to close the first ahead by six (18-12).

Over the next quarter and a half, GSU slowly separated from Howard, going up by as many as 15 with 6:35 left in the third quarter. The Bison responded with a stretch of 14:33 where they outscored the Panthers 29-19, with 11 points coming from Gonzales. A three pointer by redshirt freshman Essence Brown at the end of the run cut GSU's lead to just five points (58-53) with 1:44 left in the game but HU would go 2-of-7 from the field down the stretch, missing a chance to close the gap further.

Howard continues to progress despite their overall record: the Bison held Georgia State to the lowest shooting percentages (.371 FG, .250 3FG) of any opponent this season. HU also set defensive highs in blocks (five) and steals (14).

NEXT UP
Howard will take on Mercer University on Sunday, November 29 at 1 p.m. to open the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic.