Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware couldn't find the mark from the outside Thursday night as the Blue Hens shot just 21.8 percent from the field and dropped a 58-46 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball decision to Georgia State at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The game was the final regular season home game of the season for the Hens, who will play road games at Virginia Commonwealth and Towson before returning home March 13-16 to host the CAA Tournament.

Delaware (7-21, 6-10 CAA), which lost its third straight game, got 14 points, eight steals, and four assists from senior guard Kyle DeHaven (at right) while freshman forward Ariene Jenkins pulled 10 rebounds and freshman guards Vanessa Kabongo and Gracie Palucis each scored nine points with Palucis draining three three-pointers.

DeHaven, the nation’s leader in steals per game, increased her single-season school record for steals to 124 and moved to within one steal of the No. 2 spot all-time in the CAA with 422.

Georgia State (8-19, 5-11 CAA), which led from wire to wire on the way to snapping a three-game losing streak, got a big night from sophomore forward Danyiell McKeller, who hit on 7 of 10 shots from the field and finished with game highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Brittany Hollins added 13 points and seven assists while Shay Rawls added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Panthers, who won just their second road game in 11 tries this season, overcame 26 turnovers and 11 of 26 free throw shooting by holding a 46-36 advantage on the boards and 46.8 percent shooting from the field. Delaware hit just 3 of 26 shots from the field in falling behind 25-14 at the half and converted just 12 of 55 shots from the field (21.8 percent), including just 4 of 17 from beyond the three-point line, for the game.

“It just comes down to this - we missed a lot of open shots,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “I don’t really understand why, but maybe it has something to do with our youth.”

Georgia State jumped out to an eight-point lead five minutes into the game and took advantage of a drought that saw the Blue Hens miss 11 straight shots from the field and go nearly nine minutes without a basket. The Panthers led by as many as 15 points at 35-20 in the second half before Delaware rallied and cut the gap to 39-36 when Palucis hit a three-pointer and Kabongo followed with a jumper with 7:42 left.

Delaware would never get closer as Hollins followed with a three-pointer to start a 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to double figures. Another UD run narrowed the gap to 46-41 with 3:40 left, but the Panthers answered again with another 7-0 run to put the game away.

The game was in stark contrast to the previous meeting between the two teams in Atlanta back on Jan. 24 when the Blue Hens recorded a 71-57 victory, posting season highs for points and field goal shooting (.509).

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