BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF) | VIDEO
 
KENNESAW, Ga. – Despite a valiant second-half comeback, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team dropped a 63-60 heartbreaker to East Tennessee State on Thursday night (Feb. 20) at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
With the loss, KSU (6-19, 4-10) swaps places with ETSU (8-16, 4-9) in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings and sits in seventh position for the league tournament.
 
Junior guard Kristina Wells led the Owls with a team-high 23 points, including 20 second-half points, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. The Douglasville, Ga., native is now only 30 points away from reaching the 1,000 plateau in her career with 970 total points in her three years.
 
After an early 2-2 tie, the Owls came out firing to score the next nine points en route to building a 11-2 lead through the first five minutes of the contest. KSU stretched its lead to 11 points after a pair of three-pointers from junior Bria Young made it 17-6.
 
The Bucs battled back to within 19-16 with just over 10 minutes left to play in the first, but Young's fourth trey of the half kept the visitors at bay.
 
With KSU leading 24-18, the Bucs used a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 28-24 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. Back-to-back layups from freshman forward Gratia Brooks evened the contest at 28-28, but ETSU finished the half in a flourish with a 13-1 run to take a 41-29 lead into intermission.
 
Out of the break, the Bucs pushed their lead to 43-29 on a pair of free throws, before a 16-2 run over the next four minutes, including nine-straight points from Wells, brought KSU to within three at 47-44 with 14:28 left on the clock.
 
A pair of Brooks free throws with just over seven minutes left trimmed the ETSU lead to two at 54-52, but the Bucs widened the gap back to seven with five-straight points.
 
Down seven with just under six minutes to play, the Owls engineered an 8-1 run over the next five minutes to bring themselves to within 61-60 with 51 second remaining.
 
After a Buccaneer turnover with 26 ticks left on the clock, KSU had two cracks at the basket, but the ball would not fall as ETSU cemented the 63-60 win with a pair of free throws to end the game.
 
Young added 12 points on four three-pointers for her fourth double-digit scoring game in the last five contests, while redshirt-senior Lisa Capellan notched a team-high nine rebounds and three steals for the Owls.
 
KSU committed a season-low 10 turnovers, but fell in the battle of the boards, 42-38, with ETSU grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, which the Bucs turned into 21 second chance points.  
 
Tiana Burley turned in a game-high 25 points for ETSU, while Shamauria Bridges added 13 points for the visitors.
 
The Owls continue their three-game home stand with Breast Cancer Awareness Day and Alumni Day on Saturday, Feb. 22, as the Owls look to "Pink Out" USC Upstate, with fans encouraged to wear pink to the game. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be seen on the ESPN3 network.   
 
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.
 
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video