Dec. 30, 2007
Box Score
ATLANTA, Ga. - Britteny Henderson scored a team-high 18 points and Gia Lockett added 15 but it wasn't enough as Kennesaw State fell, 83-68, to Georgia Tech in the championship game of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center Holiday Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets (12-1) won their seventh straight game and are off to their best start in the program's history. The loss drops the Lady Owls to 5-7 on the year.
Henderson was 5-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line to lead the Lady Owls attack for the second straight game. The Atlanta native grabbed 10 rebounds to record her second straight and sixth double-double of the season en route to being named to the All-Tournament team. Lockett once again scored in double figures with her 15-point performance, while Greteya Kelley added 11 for the Black and Gold.
Georgia Tech came out of the gates strong, making six of its first nine shots to jump out to a 13-6 lead six minutes into the game. The Lady Owls came roaring back, converting three Yellow Jackets missed shots and two turnovers into six straight points to pull within one at 13-12 with 12:00 to go. KSU went cold for the next two and a half minutes, unable to find the bottom of the net, but hung tough on the defensive end to only be down six at 18-12 after Tech's Alex Montgomery hit a three pointer with 10:08 remaining.
Foul trouble and poor shooting cost the Lady Owls down the stretch of the first half. KSU sent Tech to the free throw line a total of 19 times in the first 20 minutes of play, where the Jackets converted 12 of the opportunities. The Lady Owls struggled on the offensive end in the last five minutes of the half, missing four straight attempts to finish shooting 35.0 percent (7-of-20).
The Black and Gold committed 16 turnovers in the first stanza, which led to 15 Georgia Tech points.
Kennesaw State did a better job of shooting the ball to start the second half, connecting on six of its first eight shots. The Yellow Jackets were equally as hot in the first five minutes of the period, making all five of their shots to maintain a 20-point lead at 56-36 with 14:58 to go.
Gia Lockett came alive for the Lady Owls, scoring KSU's next five points to bring the score to 56-41. But once again the Black and Gold struggled, only managing to score on a pair of Ngoneh Gaye free throws over the next three minutes. The Lady Owls trailed by as many as 26 points in the second half and were only able to trim the Tech lead to 14.
With the non-conference portion of the season wrapped up, Kennesaw State turns its attention to Atlantic Sun Conference play, which begins Saturday, Jan. 5 when the Lady Owls host Mercer. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center and can be seen on A-Sun.tv
