BOX SCORE (XML) |
BOX SCORE (PDF) |
POSTGAME INTERVIEW |
SEASON STATISTICS
MACON, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women’s basketball team had top ranked Florida Gulf Coast on its heels Wednesday afternoon, but couldn’t hold on the pressure as the Owls closed out the 2012-13 campaign with a 73-47 loss in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Postseason Tournament.
The Owls, who end the season at 7-24 under first year head coach
Nitra Perry, were within three points of the league’s regular season champ Florida Gulf Coast (26-5) with 12 minutes to go in regulation before a 23-0 run from the Eagles put the game out of reach for KSU.
“I was impressed with how we competed in the first half and in the first 10 minutes of the second,” said Perry of her team’s effort. “But we needed to keep it going the entire 40 minutes.
“A big part of our plan was to not give them the three-point shot. We only gave up four in each half but we let their shooters get loose and we didn’t stick with the game-plan and that’s where it got out of control.”
The Owls kept pace with the Eagles throughout the first 20 minutes, holding several leads early on including their largest, a three-point advantage at 14:05 after a pair of
Kristina Wells free throws to make it 11-8 KSU.
After FGCU regained a brief lead,
Nicole Adams (New Port Richey, Fla./Gulf HS), who started the game off 3-for-3 from the field with two triples, put the Owls back up by one on a made three, 13-12. Back-to-back threes from the Eagles put FGCU up by nine before the Owls cut it back to five with layups from
Chantel Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Colorado St.) and
Sametria Gideon (Madison, Ala./Bob Jones HS) over the next two minutes.
Florida Gulf Coast then ended the half on a pair of three-pointers to go up by 11, 32-21, before senior
Ashley Holliday (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann Academy) cut it back to single digits with a three-point basket of her own to send the game into the half, 32-24 Eagles.
Out of the break the Owls regained immediate momentum, cutting the lead down to four on three-straight baskets from the Gideon. The senior forward then brought it down to three, 41-38, with 12:00 to go on two made free throws before the big FGCU run.
“Her effort has always been tremendous,” said Perry of Gideon. “She’s the heart and soul of the team, when she gets going the team gets going. It’s going to be really hard to replace her as well as Ashley (Holliday).”
Gideon ended her career with the Owls by earning her 15
th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds that included 17 points and 10 rebounds in the second half alone. Holliday picked up three points with two steals and one assist.
As a team, the Owls cleaned up on the glass, outrebounded the Eagles by a 35-24 margin with Gideon’s game-high 13 boards followed by Kennedy’s 12, two shy of a career mark for the junior.
The trip to the A-Sun Tournament was the fourth straight for the Owls, who will now begin preparation for the 2013-14 season.
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.
