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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Junior guard Kristina Wells continued her dominate play, but it was not enough as the Kennesaw State women's basketball team dropped a tough 74-68 battle with East Tennessee State on Thursday night (Jan. 23) at the MSHA/ETSU Athletics Center.
 
"I was proud of the effort we played with for about 30 to 35 minutes," said head coach Nitra Perry. "In conference play something that we have been emphasizing to our girls is playing for forty minutes. We had some times defensively where we did not get stops and that is what it came down to, getting stops and rebounding. Christopher Chandler, a guard, had 14 rebounds and so that really hurt us. They got a lot of second chance opportunities even though we still outrebounded them. The timeliness of their offensive boards really broke our back."
 
The Owls, now 4-14 on the season, move to 2-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, while ETSU improves to 6-11 and 2-4 in league play.
 
Wells led the Owls with her ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds to go along with seven assists and two steals.
 
"Kristina Wells once against was a 'steady-Eddie' and consistent," said Perry. "We are just looking for two or three more people to help and although [redshirt-senior forward] Lisa Capellan did not have many points tonight, she did an awesome job defensively and was a leader in the huddle. I appreciated those two tonight. I thought they did a really good job."
 
KSU grabbed the opening tip and took an early 5-0 lead on a three-pointer by freshman guard Deandrea Sawyers and a jumper from freshman forward Aareon Smith in the first minutes of the contest, but five-straight points from the Bucs quickly evened the score at 5-5.
 
Wells then gave the Owls its largest lead of the half with five-straight points for a 16-9 lead with 14:09 on the clock.
 
The Bucs responded with a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to go ahead 23-18 with nine minutes remaining in the first. KSU then scored the next seven points, capped by a Smith three-pointer to shoot ahead 25-23.
 
After trading baskets the teams enter the sixth tie of the first half at 30-30, when the Owls kept ETSU scoreless for a second 7-0 run in the last 3:44 of the period to enter the break leading 37-30.
 
Out of intermission, Sawyers drained a three for the largest KSU lead of the contest at 40-32, but the Bucs stormed back with a 10-1 run for a 42-41 lead.
 
With just under nine minutes remaining in the game, the contest entered its eighth tie at 49-49 before the Bucs took its first lead of the second half on a free throw.
 
Wells cut the ETSU lead to one at 54-53 with a pair of freebies, but the Bucs sprinted ahead with five-straight points. Wells again cut into the ETSU lead with a layup, but a 7-0 run from the home team gave the Bucs its largest lead of the contest at 66-57 with 2:29 on the clock.
 
A Smith jumper brought the Owls to within 68-64, but it would not be enough as ETSU cemented the 74-68 win from the free throw line.
 
Joining Wells in double figures for KSU was Sawyers and junior guard Bria Young, who each netted 11 points and three treys in the contest. Smith added nine points and a career-high eight rebounds for the Owls.
 
For the game, KSU registered a 40 percent clip from the field and shot 78 percent from the charity stripe. The Owls out rebounded the Bucs, 41-29, but were hampered by 19 turnovers for 16 ETSU points.
 
The Bucs were led by Shamauria Bridges with 19 points, while Chandler Christopher poured in 14 points and 14 boards.
 
The Owls continues their three-game road trip as they travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for a 4:30 p.m. ET contest against USC Upstate in the G.B. Hodge Center on Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
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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