Dec. 12, 2007
Box Score
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Kennesaw State could not stop Erika Smith's 26-point effort as the College of Charleston used a 17-5 run to start the second half to down the Lady Owls, 70-49, on Wednesday night at the John Kresse Arena.
KSU (3-6) jumped out ahead early, 4-0, after back-to-back layups by Jennifer Baker and Montinique Nixon. Leading 8-6 after a DeAndrea Bullock jumper with 13:45 to go in the first half, the Lady Owls went cold, missing their next 11 shots from the field.
Good free throw shooting kept the Black and Gold in the first half, as the Lady Owls only trailed by six until a Bullock lay-up cut the lead to 18-14. But once again KSU struggled offensively, scoring just three points in the final three minutes of the first stanza to go into the locker room down 25-17.
It was in the second half that Smith broke out, going a perfect 11-of-11 from the field, scoring 22 points including Charleston's (2-5) first six baskets to give the Cougars a 37-22 lead with 15:06 to go. KSU could pull no closer than 15 points down the stretch as Charleston shot 72 percent (18-of-25) in the second half.
Smith's career-best 26 points paced all scorers, while Jill Furstenburg and Brooke Kotcella added 17 and 11 respectively. The Cougars finished the game shooting 54 percent and held a slight rebound advantage, 34-33.
Baker led the way for the Lady Owls scoring 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Bullock (4-of-7) added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Nikki Gurley and Britteny Henderson added six apiece of the bench.
The Lady Owls will be back in action on Friday night when they travel across town to play Charleston Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
