Box Score (PDF)
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Despite an ASUN Championship record 45 points from sophomore Amani Johnson, the No. 6 seed Kennesaw State women's basketball team came up short in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament, falling 91-86 at No. 3 seed Liberty.
 
Johnson had the game of her life in the loss, scoring 20 points in the first half and pouring in 25 more in the second half to set the ASUN Championship record, which was previously held at 42 points. Her 45-point performance also set the program's single-game Division I scoring record.
 
"Amani Johnson was spectacular in every sense of the word," said head coach Agnus Berenato. "She added nine assists to her stat line and was unstoppable. Amani played with such fire as she single handily kept us afloat."
 
The North Versailles, Pennsylvania native added nine assists and five steals as she played all 40 minutes. Johnson went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, 4-of-6 from long range and 16-of-28 to propel her to a record performance.
 
"I am super proud of these ladies for the performance they displayed tonight," said Berenato. "Their fight and drive was amazing to see. The statistics were so evenly matched and the teams played their hearts out. It's tough to lose a game like this, however KSU showed great improvement over the last two outings against Liberty."
 
The Owls came out and took an early 8-5 lead, but that would be the only edge KSU had all game, as Liberty used a 6-0 spurt to take an 11-8 advantage that they would never relinquish.
 
The Flames built a 12-point lead going into halftime, but coming out of intermission the Owls quickly cut into the Liberty lead as Johnson opened the half with a three-pointer and Alexis Poole cut the advantage to just seven with a layup moments later. The Flames answered with a run of their own however, scoring seven unanswered to send the lead to 14 points and force KSU into a timeout with 5:59 left in the period.
 
The Owls continued to fight in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to as little as three points at two different times in the final 25 seconds, but Liberty made its final five free throws and escaped with the five-point victory.
 
To compliment Johnson's career night, Poole scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds in 27 minutes of action, while Peyton Lewis chipped in nine points.

"Alexis Poole had a good outing, but foul trouble got the best of her," said Berenato. "I was proud of her defensive efforts and rebounding to go along with three blocks. Peyton Lewis added some bench power and gave us a lift with nine points."
 
The Owls end the year at 13-16 overall, marking the most wins under Berenato as she completes her fourth year at the helm of Kennesaw State.