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MOREHEAD, Ky. – It was a heartbreaker for the Kennesaw State women’s basketball team at Morehead State on Saturday evening, taking a 50-49 loss in the final seconds of a back-and-forth game in the second round of the WNIT.
With just six seconds left on the clock and trailing by two, KSU (0-3) freshman
Chelsea Mason (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West HS) hit a 10-foot jumper to tie the game up at 49. After the two teams exchanged turnovers, MSU’s (1-1) Mackenzie Arledge was fouled with just four-tenths of a second remaining, where she was good on one of her two attempts at the line to end the game.
“We have to get better at executing the details,” said Kennesaw State head coach
Nitra Perry “We need to get back to executing the things we practice. Now we have to get back to the drawing board because this game is definitely one that we should have won.”
After taking a 25-22 halftime lead, the Owls let the Eagles come back to take a four point advantage early on at 31-27.
Kristina Wells (Douglasville, Ga./Douglasville County HS) then scored four straight to put the Owls up by one at the 12:19 mark. Mason extended the lead to five with a basket at 7:51 to put the Owls up by five, 41-36. KSU led until the 1:11 mark when a pair of Eagle free throws put the home team up by two before Mason’s game tying shot.
“Kristina has been playing the most consistent basketball for us,” said Perry of her sophomore guard. “We need to keep going and make the necessary adjustments moving forward and start playing smarter, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
Wells ended the game with a team high 14 points while
Sametria Gideon (Madison, Ala./Bob Jones HS) earned her first double-double of the year on a season best 11 points with 11 rebounds. Mason finished up in double-digits scoring for the second straight game, putting in 13 with a 5-of-7 performance shooting.
The first half saw KSU jump out the 8-0 lead over Morehead State on three field goals and a pair of Mason free throws as the stout Owl defense held the Eagles scoreless until the 15:13 mark.
At 12:19, MSU’s Almesha Jones tied it up at 12 with the fast-break layup and gave her team a brief lead at 16-12 on a 6-0 run. Gideon then put in five straight points as the Owls regained the lead, going into the halftime break up, 25-22.
Gideon and Mason each finished the first half with seven points as the Owls went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line after 13 Eagle fouls in the first period.
As a team, the Owls outrebounded their opponent for the ballgame, 38-16, as well as outshot the Eagles, going 37.5-percent from the field to MSU’s 36-percent. The Owls also put in 12 of their 15 free-throw attempts for the game.
“We just need to seal up wins,” added Perry. “We just have to move on from this one, move past it, and get ready for the next game.”
The Owls will wrap up their participation in the WNIT this Sunday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. ET against either Davidson or Northern Illinois.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women’s basketball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsWBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
