By: KSU Sports Information
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Postgame Notes
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women’s basketball team came back from a 15-point first half deficit to earn it’s first-ever win over East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon, 78-68, in front of 1,524 fans at the KSU Convocation Center.
The win moves the Lady Owls into a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings with North Florida with a record of 11-13 (6-7 A-Sun), while the loss drops the Lady Bucs to 6-17 (5-7 A-Sun) for the season.
The Lady Owls fell behind by as much as 15 points in the first half as ETSU came out of the gates on fire making 11 of their first 19 shots from the field. However, KSU was able to weather the storm and closed the gap to eight heading into the locker room at 40-32.
KSU stormed out of the locker room to begin the second half using a 29-13 run to make the score 61-55 with nine minutes left to go in the game. Kennesaw State really locked in defensively after that point holding ETSU to 27 percent shooting in the second half to hold on for the win.
A big reason why the Lady Owls were able to pull away late was their superior defense on ETSU’s Destiny Mitchell. Mitchell, who came into the game averaging 19.8 points in her last four games, scored only five points on 1-of-1 shooting in the second half.
Head Coach
Colby Tilley was very pleased with the today’s result as he knows how big of a game this was for his team. “This is something we have been trying to do for seven years now,” coach Tilley said. “To come out and get a big win like this over a good team like East Tennessee State today is a great moment for not only the girls, but for our program as well. Even though we fell behind early the girls never gave up as they kept playing very hard and followed the game plan throughout.”
All five starters for KSU scored in double-digits with junior guard
Chelcey Farrar leading the way as she picked up her second double-double of her career with season-highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt-freshman guard
Taylor Mills also chipped in 14 points, five assists and two steals in the win. The Lady Owls are now 9-2 this season when they score 65 or more points in a game.
Tonight’s announced attendance of 1,524 fans is the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s basketball game in program history. Part of the crowd consisted of participants from the 4th Annual Owls Making Strides 5K Benefitting Breast Cancer Awareness that was comprised of 453 runners.
Kennesaw State will try to finish off its three-game home stand with a perfect record as it hosts in-state rival Mercer on Saturday, February 11 at 5 p.m. The first 200 students to arrive at the game will receive free “Beat Mercer” T-shirts.
