Despite the absence of head coach Brian Boyer, the Arkansas State women’s basketball team secured a portion of the regular season Sun Belt Conference championship with an 85-64 victory over Georgia State Saturday.

Senior Aundrea Gamble scored 31 points and tied a career-high with 11 assists, while Khadija Brown-Haywood added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jessica Flanery finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

“Give Georgia State credit because they did not go away quietly,” Arkansas State assistant coach Deidra Johnson said. “They made some runs at us, but our kids handled it perfectly. They were hungry and had the will to win and executed the game plan perfectly to get the job done.”

The Red Wolves wasted no time finding a rhythm on the offensive end, going on a 9-0 run in the game’s opening minutes to take a 9-2 lead after a pair of three point baskets by Brown-Haywood. Amanda Lawson added a spark in her first game back from injury with eight points in the first half, while Flanery added a pair of three pointers to help A-State jump out to a 34-15 advantage with 6:48 to go until half.

Arkansas State held Georgia State scoreless for the first five minutes of the second quarter as Brown-Haywood (10) and Gamble (12) each reached double-figures, while Gamble also added seven assists in the half.

Georgia State took advantage of its size on the boards and held a 27-17 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds. The Panthers also added 10 second chance points, but A-State was able to offset that with 13 points off 13 GSU turnovers.

A-State shot 50 percent (31-of-62) from the field on the afternoon, and forced the Panthers into 21 turnovers, which led to 27 points on the offensive end for the Red Wolves. A-State also got out in transition and scored 22 fast break points, and got nice production from its bench with 14 points.

The Red Wolves return home for the first time in two weeks on Thurs, Feb. 25 to host the Texas State Bobcats, at the Convocation Center. The game will also be the Red Wolves’ annual Play4Kay “Pink Game” and fans are encouraged to wear pink. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.