By: KSU Sports Information
Live Stats I Game Notes
Watch I Listen I Coach Tilley Pregame
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women’s basketball team looks to go into the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on a positive note as it closes out its 2011-12 regular season on Saturday against Lipscomb on Senior Day.
Even with only one game remaining in the regular season there are several seeding possibilities for the Lady Owls. If KSU takes care of business on Saturday, and defeats Lipscomb, it will lock up the No. 5 seed regardless of the outcomes of any of the other A-Sun games. However, if Kennesaw State should fall to the Lady Bison then it will be scoreboard watching to see the results of all the other games as a loss could leave KSU as the No. 5, No. 6 or No. 7 seed.
With all of that at stake KSU needs to find a way to solve their slow starts because in each of their last two games it has fallen behind by 20 or more points in the first half, including its loss to Belmont on Thursday.
The Lady Owls got 14 points and 11 rebounds from junior Sametria Gideon, but it couldn’t complete its comeback falling just short in a 58-53 loss to Belmont on Thursday night at the KSU Convocation Center. For the second straight game Kennesaw State came out of the gates sluggish which enabled Belmont to open the first 9:17 of the game on a 29-5 run. KSU countered with a 20-3 run to get back in the game, but after getting to within one with a minute left it couldn’t get over the hump eventually falling by five.
Kennesaw State did have some positives come out of the loss as it destroyed Belmont on the glass, 50-27, and for the 10th time in 11 games KSU dished out 14 or more assists in a game. KSU is 88th in the nation in assists per game averaging 13.8 dimes per contest.
Head Coach Colby Tilley looks to have his team build off some of those positives as he knows all too well the importance of Saturday’s game.
“We know what is at stake tomorrow and we have told the girls that we can still do what we set out to accomplish which is to get the highest possible seed we can heading into the tournament,” Tilley said. “Lipscomb will come into this game with a lot of energy so we have to match them and try to get out a quick start, but if we can do that I think we will be in good shape.”
The Lady Owls have had Lipscomb’s number over the years as they currently hold a 9-3 edge in the all-time series. That record includes when the two teams met earlier this season on Dec. 3 when redshirt-freshman Taylor Mills scored a career-high 28 points to lead Kennesaw State to a 74-55 win over Lipscomb in Nashville. Gideon has been a very effective inside presence against the Lady Bison as she is averaging 10.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in her last two games against them.
Saturday also marks the final regular-season home game for the two seniors of the 2011-12 senior class. Tamasha Bolden and Briona Jones will be honored before the match. The game will be the first of a double-header with the men’s basketball team as both games will have live audio available via KSU All-Access.
