By: by Jason Hanes
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KENNESAW, Ga. - Ashley Holliday connected on four 3-pointers while Sametria Gideon scored eight of her 12 points in the second half as the Kennesaw State women's basketball team defeated North Florida, 54-50, Monday night at the KSU Convocation Center for its second straight Atlantic Sun Conference win.
"I thought we played really well for 32 out of the 40 minutes," said KSU head coach Colby Tilley. "We seemed to find that extra gear in the last five minutes of the game to find a way to win."
The game's decisive moments happened in the final two minutes of the contest. With KSU leading, 51-47, a 3-pointer by UNF's Jadken Kerr cut the Lady Owls lead to one, 51-50. On the other end, with the shot clock winding down on the Lady Owls, Holliday closed out her 16-point performance with a 3-pointer from the left wing, giving KSU the final margin of victory.
"I've been putting in more time in the gym lately, practicing my outside shot," said Holliday. "Once I hit a 3-pointer, I want to make another and another."
UNF would have opportunities to close the gap late, but KSU's defense stood tall as Gideon and Tamasha Bolden each had rebounds in the final 75 seconds of the contest to help preserve the victory.
In a game that neither team led by more than seven points, the Lady Owls (5-12, 2-7) trailed, 30-25, mere seconds into the second half after a UNF basket. KSU would respond with six straight points to regain the lead as Gideon, Angie Smith and Bolden all poured in jumpers to push KSU ahead, 31-30. A basket by UNF gave the Ospreys (6-12, 4-5) a, 32-31, lead before Smith and Bolden pushed KSU back up by three with a pair of baskets.
UNF would rally to tie the score three more times before regaining the lead, 43-41, when Brittany Kirkland scored two of her team-high 16 points. KSU would come back off the deck, taking the lead for good at the 7:18 mark of the second half when Lisa Capellan followed a Smith miss with an old-fashioned three-point play to give KSU the lead, 44-43.
KSU would shoot 12-of-30 for in the second half while keeping the Ospreys to just 9-of-30 shooting. Both teams connected six times from beyond the arc, with Holliday draining four for the fourth time this season. After turning the ball over 15 times in the first half, KSU turned it over just seven in the final 20 minutes for a total of 22, compared to UNF's 23.
KSU set a season-high in assists with 18, with Christe Leverette dishing out a season-high eight. Nine different players scored for the Lady Owls, led by Holliday's 16.
The Lady Owls will try to sweep their three-game homestand this Wednesday when Mercer visits to close out the first half of the A-Sun season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live coverage available on ASun.TV.
