Dec. 2, 2006
Box Score
MACON, Ga. - Kennesaw State jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead and held on down the stretch as the Lady Owls defeated Mercer, 74-70, at the University Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Lady Owls move to 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer falls to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league.
KSU managed to hold off several Bears' runs in the second half, including 10-3 spurt in the last three minutes of the game. But despite a technical foul on Ngoneh Gaye with :05 remaining, the Bears were unable to provide any late-game heroics as Kennesaw State escaped with the four-point victory.
Mercer opened the second 20 minutes of play with an 8-1 run that cut the lead to 45-40 with 17:32 to go. The Lady Owls responded on the strength of lay-ups by Gia Lockett and Ngoneh Gaye and a pair of Jade Robinson free throws to stretch the gap back to 11 with a little more than 15 minutes remaining.
But in a half where momentum was key, Mercer once again gave the Lady Owls a scare when they put together another run over the next three minutes to once again bring the lead less than five points at 51-48 with 12:43 left in the game.
Unlike in previous games this season, KSU refused to lose and helped by dominance in rebounds, the Lady Owls moved to .500 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
The Lady Owls out-rebounded the Bears, 50-30, and controlled the defensive glass 29-15.
Hollis led the offensive charge for the Lady Owls, finishing with 15 points. Gaye finished with 14 points and came within five rebounds of tying the school record with a career-high 19 boards. Robinson and Lockett rounded out the Lady Owls' double-figure scorers with 12 points apiece.
TaShera Lewis led Mercer with 22 points, while Erin Keller and Nicole Leonard finished with 16 and 12 respectively.
KSU will continue its road trip as the Lady Owls travel to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. Tip-off at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
