By: by Jason Hanes
DeLAND, Fla. - Ashley Holliday scored 14 points and Sametria Gideon had her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Kennesaw State women's basketball team fell at Stetson, 74-60, in an Atlantic Sun Conference game Monday night.
KSU (3-12, 0-7) fell behind, 9-2, in the first two minutes of the contest, but the Lady Owls scored the next 11 points to take the lead, 13-9. After jumpers by Brandi Jones and Gideon, Christine Leverette connected on a 3-pointer to knot the score, 9-9. A Stetson turnover led to a Gideon bucket to give KSU its first lead of the game, 11-9, with just over 15 minutes left in the opening haf. On KSU's next possession, five offensive rebounds eventually led to a Lisa Capellan basket, giving KSU the, 13-9, advantage.
The Lady Owls would push the lead as high as five points, as Holliday would hit on one of her four 3-pointers on the evening to make the score 16-11. The Hatters (8-9, 4-4) would come back, scoring the next six points to regain the lead, 17-16. A basket by Chelcey Farrar gave KSU the lead, 18-17, but a, 6-0, spurt by the Hatters would give Stetson a lead it would not relinquish.
Although Stetson led, 37-25, at halftime, the Lady Owls refused to go away. Three straight 3-pointers by Jones, Angie Smith, and Holliday cut Stetson's lead to five, 52-47. KSU would cut the deficit to three, 58-55, after another Holliday 3-pointer. That would prove to be as close as the Lady Owls would get, as Stetson would surge ahead by scoring 16 of the game's final 21 points to take the win.
Holliday's 14 points were her highest in an A-Sun game this season and the most since a 17-point performance at Clemson last Nov. 21. With 10 points on the night, Jones reached double-figures in an A-Sun game for the second time this season.
As a team, the Lady Owls had a season-best 16 assists. Leverette had a season-high six assists, with Smith and Gideon each adding four.
The lion's share of Stetson's points came from a trio of players as Jessica Conner and Tierra Brown each scored 22 and Victoria McGowan chipped in 17. Conner and Brown combined to shoot 17-of-25 from the field, with Conner completing a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Lady Owls will host Jacksonville this Saturday at 5 p.m. in an A-Sun contest.
