Afreyea Tolbert scored seven consecutive points to give Northeastern the lead with 7:48 remaining in the second half as the Huskies held off Georgia State 46-42 in the first round of the CAA Championship on Thursday afternoon. It is the fourth time in five season that the Huskies have advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Northeastern hit 43 percent of its shots in the second half while holding the Panthers to 22 percent in the second half to take the win.

The Huskies jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with Kendra Walton leading the way with five points. After a Brittany Wilson jumper to make it 11-8 Northeastern, Georgia State unleashed a 19-2 run, holding the Huskies without a field goal for nearly eight minutes until Kashaia Cannon hit a runner on the baseline at 4:33 in the first. The basket sparked an 8-0 run for the Huskies, with Walton knocking down a three and Tolbert found Kim Carr open underneath to make it a five-point game at 25-20 with 2:04 remaining, however GSU's Danyiell McKeller hit a lay up with one second to give the Panthers a 27-21 lead at the half.

Walton led the Huskies with eight points and six rebounds in the first half while Carr added six points. Georgia State was led by McKeller, who had 10 in the opening frame. Neither team shot well from the floor, with the Huskies hitting 36 percent of their shots compared to the Panthers 33 percent.

Northeastern was able to cut into the Georgia State lead to three off a Walton free throw, but the Panthers hit two-straight baskets to push it out to a seven point game. Georgia State would maintain that margin until Walton tipped in a rebound and Carr hit a lay up to make it a two-point game at 35-33 with 9:20 left. Tolbert's seven points gave the Huskies a 40-37 lead at 5:15, but Georgia State came back to take a 42-41 lead on Crystal Johnson three-point play.

Northeastern forced a turnover on the next Georgia State possession and Walton and Brittany Wilson each hit lay ups, and the Huskies turned up the defensive pressure to hold Georgia State from scoring for the final two minutes to take the win.

Walton finished with her second-straight double-double tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds. Carr added nine points and seven rebounds while Jamie Conroy pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds as the Huskies out-rebounded GSU 43-30. Johnson led all scorers with 15 points while McKeller added 12.

Northeastern will face top-seeded Old Dominion tomorrow at noon.