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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort against reigning Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast, but ultimately fell 69-55 to the Eagles on Thursday night (Jan. 16) at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
"I was proud of my team for working extremely hard," said head coach Nitra Perry. "I did not think the score was indicative of the effort that we gave tonight. I thought the difference in the game was the three-point made shots. I think they took five more shots overall, but the difference was their 11-for-33 threes, which we knew was going to happen as far as attempts of threes. They came into the game attempting 28 threes a game and [it hurt] us only making 3-of-15. I was proud of our free-throws in the second half, 5-for-5, and shooting 75 percent for the game, so I was happy about that."
 
In the first of back-to-back home contests for the Owls, the team falls to 4-12 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while the A-Sun leading Eagles move their record to 10-6 on the year and 4-0 in league play.
 
Junior guard Kristina Wells posted her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with two blocks and two steals. Freshman guard Deandrea Sawyers added 13 points and three assists for the Owls.
 
After winning the opening tip, FGCU scored in its first three-pointer of the night, before freshman forward Gratia Brooks put the Owls on the board at 3-2 in the first two minutes of the contest. Another Brooks layup gave the home team its first lead at 4-3, but the Eagles posted the next nine points to take a 12-4 lead at the 12:41 mark of the first half.
 
A pair of jumpers from redshirt-junior forward Lisa Capellan closed the gap to 14-8, when the Eagles stretched out its lead by 13 at 27-14 with 8:16 remaining in the half.
 
Three-straight points from FGCU's Jenna Cobb gave the Eagles their largest lead of the half at 30-16 with five and a half minutes left. The Eagles carried its double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the period, before a Capellan layup and a free throw from Wells sent the Owls into intermission trailing 36-24.
 
FGCU continued its strong shooting from behind the arc with a three to open the second period for a 15-point lead. Despite the deficit the Owls continued to battle, making a 16-3 run over the next nine minutes, spurred by four free-throws and a three-pointer from junior guard Bria Young, to trim the Eagle lead to two at 42-40 with 10:47 left on the clock.
 
After an Eagle timeout, the visitors used a quick 10-0 run to widen the lead back to 52-42 with eight and a half remaining.
 
Back-to-back layups from Sawyers and Wells again closed the gap to 52-46, but five-straight points from the Eagles pushed the lead back to 11. Sawyers again tried to bring the Owls back with four-straight points to cut it to 57-50 with 4:31 remaining, but the Eagles would hold KSU scoreless over the next two and a half minutes to take control of the game and the 69-55 victory.
 
Capellan had one of her best games of the season with eight points, including 4-of-8 from the field, and seven boards, while Young snapped her five-game double-figure scoring streak with seven points. Freshman forward Aareon Smith also contributed seven points and five rebounds.
 
KSU shot its third-best free-throw percentage of the season, going 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. For the game the Owls shot 41.8 percent from the field, but only made 3-of-15 from three-point range, while the Eagles connected on 11-of-33 threes in the contest.
 
Despite a 38-34 advantage on the glass, KSU was hampered by 15 turnovers which turned into 19 points for the Eagles.
 
FGCU owned a balance attack with four Eagles reaching double figures, led by 16 points from Stephanie Haas. Sarah Hansen added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles.
 
The Owls continue their home stand with a contest against Stetson on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the KSU Convocation Center. Tip is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3.
 
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.
 
Season and single game tickets are currently available for all the home court action for the Owls and can be purchased by following the link HERE.
 
 

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