By: by KSU Sports Information
ATLANTA - Taylor Mills scored 26 points and Lisa Capellan added a career-high 13, but it was not to be for the Kennesaw State women's basketball team as the Lady Owls fell, 65-59, to Georgia State on Wednesday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
"I thought we played about 30 good minutes," said KSU head coach Colby Tilley. "This was a game that was very winnable for us. We just needed to get a couple of shots that we missed to go and I really think it could have been a different story."
KSU (3-6) shot 21-of-59 from the field, but connected on eight attempts from beyond the 3-point line. Mills connected on 7-of-16 from behind the arc, finishing at 8-of-20 from the field with a season-best six rebounds and three assists.
The night started out perfectly for Kennesaw State, as the Lady Owls scored the first eight points of the contest. Capellan was nearly unstoppable in the first three minutes of the game, connecting for six points with Tamasha Bolden adding a jumper from 16-feet as part of the opening barrage. "We got off to the best start I could have imagined," said coach Tilley. "I think we started out playing on adrenaline, and when that wore off, we let Georgia State get back into it. Once they got the lead, we started playing with more effort, but we just couldn't get over the hump."
Georgia State chipped away at the KSU advantage until the Panthers took their first lead, 15-13. KSU rallied back after GSU (3-4) stretched the lead up to three, as Mills connected from long range on back-to-back possessions to give KSU the lead back, 20-17.
That would prove to be the final lead of the night for the Lady Owls, but KSU didn't go away quietly. With the Panthers in possession of their largest lead of the first half, 33-24, Kennesaw state closed the opening frame on an 8-2 run. Ashley Holliday connected on her only 3-pointer of the night to start the run. After a Georgia State basket, Mills drained a 3-pointer to get the lead down to five with 46 seconds left. After a defensive stand on the other end, the Lady Owls got a basket in the lane from Kristina Wells just before the halftime horn sounded to cut the lead to three, 35-32.
A sluggish start to the second half would go a long way to dooming the Lady Owls in the contest. While Georgia State managed just six points in the first six minutes of the half, it still bettered KSU's start. The Lady Owls were held off the scoreboard until a Wells jumper in the paint got KSU on the board with 14:44 remaining in the contest. With the defense performing well, the Lady Owls would cut into GSU's lead even deeper as Wells drained a 3-pointer just 40 seconds later to bring the Lady Owls within four, 41-37.
Georgia State's size advantage on the outside started to play a factor as the second half wore on, as KSU struggled to get entry passes into the post or to get open looks from the outside. The Panthers would get the lead as high as 15. 60-45, with just over five minutes to go. KSU would hold Georgia State to just five points in the final five minutes, but the GSU lead was too much to overcome. Mills sank a 3-pointer with four seconds left to cap her 26-point night, but it would come in a losing effort as the Lady Owls would fall by six.
Wells added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Lady Owls in defeat. Holliday finished with five points, while Carmen Lockhart joined Bolden with two.
Chan Harris had 14 points to lead Georgia State. Even though the Panthers had a size advantage at almost every spot on the court, Georgia State only out-rebounded KSU by a 42-39 margin. KSU was hurt most by turnovers, as Georgia State forced 24 turnovers, with 19 coming via steals.
The Lady Owls will be back in action this Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. against UNC Asheville. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
