By: by Jason Hanes
NASHVILLE - Ashley Holliday scored 14 points while Sametria Gideon scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Kennesaw State women's basketball team was stunned by Lipscomb, 64-56, on Thursday night at Allen Arena in an Atlantic Sun Conference contest.
The Lady Owls (10-18. 7-12) trailed by five at the half, 33-28, despite out-rebounding the Lady Bisons 24-10. KSU shot just 11-of-35 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but used 18 offensive rebounds to score 12 second-chance points.
In the second half, Lipscomb (5-24, 2-17) pushed the lead to eight before the Lady Owls rallied to take their first lead of the second half, 43-41. After the teams traded baskets, Lipscomb went on a 5-0 spurt to regain a five-point lead, 50-45. KSU whittled away the lead, cutting it to two, 54-52, after a runner in the lane by Angie Smith. After a scoreless minute, a three-pointer by Anna Bowers got the lead back to five for the Lady Bisons. Bowers would hit another jumper with just under three minutes to go, giving the Bisons a seven-point advantage.
The Lady Owls had a chance in the final minute, cutting the lead to five, 59-54, after a pair of Nixon free-throws. The Lady Bisons turned the ball over, but the Lady Owls turned the ball right back over to the home team. Lipscomb hit a pair of free-throws to get the lead back to seven, but Smith's jumper in the lane got the deficit back down to five. After a made free-throw, the Lady Owls had a chance from beyond the arc, but the shot was off-line. Lipscomb would go 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, and the Lady Owls could get no closer.
Smith scored eight points for KSU, while Montinique Nixon scored eight and grabbed 13 rebounds.
For Lipscomb, Jenna Bartsokas scored a game-high 24, while Brittany Duerk added 12.
The Lady Owls will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. CST against Belmont at the Curb Event Center here in Nashville.
