Dec. 29, 2008
Box Score
CLEMSON, S.C.--Jennifer Baker scored 17 points to lead all scorers, but the Kennesaw State women's basketball team faultered down the stretch, falling 78-65 to Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Trailing 43-35 at halftime, the Lady Owls kept it tight to start the second half, cutting the lead to two after a three-point play by Gia Lockett with just over 11 minutes to go. Then with 10:54 left in the second half, Baker stole the ball, went the length of the floor, made a lay-up and converted a free-throw to give the Lady Owls a 52-51 lead, only the second lead of the contest for the Lady Owls (4-6).
Clemson (9-3) came back, re-taking the lead on a basket by Lele Hardy. Another bucket pushed the lead to three, 55-52. Montinique Nixon made one-of-two from the free throw line, but another Clemson basket extended the lead to four. A made free throw by Jasmine Tate pushed the lead back to five for the Tigers. After another Clemson basket, KSU asked for time down 60-53 with 6:44 to go.
Off the timeout, Baker sank a pair of free throws to cut Clemson's lead to five. But down the stretch, five would be as close as the Lady Owls would get as the Lady Tigers closed the game by scoring 16 of the final 23 points.
"We just made too many mistakes with the basketball," said KSU head coach Colby Tilley. "We did a great job playing smart while we were trailing, but once we got ahead, we just made mistakes we can't afford to make."
KSU fell behind early as a 10-0 run for the Lady Tigers over four and a half minutes of the first half put Clemson ahead 16-6. After a pair of free throws for Greteya Kelley slowed the run, Clemson scored the next seven points to push the lead to 15, 23-8. The Lady Owls fought back with the next five points as Baker hit a jumper and Britteny Henderson completed a three-point play to cut the lead back to 10. Gia Lockett connected on a jumper to cut the lead to single digits, 23-15.
Clemson responded to push the lead up to 18, 37-19, with just over six minutes to go in the half, but the Lady Owls came back again. A basket by Henderson was followed with a pair of made buckets by Kelley to cut the lead down to 12. Angie Smith made two free throws to cut the lead to 10, and a basket by Kelley leading into the under four-minutes media timeout sliced the lead to eight, 37-29. Kelley made the free-throw off the timeout to slice the lead to seven.
A steal by the Lady Owls at mid-court led to a basket for Henderson. The run continued as another Clemson turnover culminated in a lay-up for Kelley, making the score 37-34 and sending the Tigers into a timeout.
Clemson ended the run with a basket, and the Lady Owls would only score one more point in the final two minutes, with that coming on a free throw by Henderson.
Kelley scored 11 points for the Lady Owls, all in the first half. Henderson finished with a double-ddouble, scoring 16 points and adding a game-high 11 rebounds. Smith and Lockett each scored nine for KSU.
Clemson had four players score in double-figures. led by Hardy's 16. The Lady Tigers shot 30-of-57 from the field for the game while out-rebounding KSU 41-32. The Lady Owls actually out-rebounded Clemson in the first half, 18-17, but Clemson dominated the defensive glass in the second half, pulling down 17 defensive rebounds as a team.
The Lady Owls will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to face Campbell in an Atlantic Sun Conference game. Tip time is set for 5:45 p.m.
