Score: Kennesaw State - 75, Chattanooga - 68
Records: Kennesaw State (2-3, 0-0), Chattanooga (1-4, 0-0)
Key Players: Alexis Poole (16 pts, 9 rebs); Jah'Che Whitfield (15 pts, 6 rebs); Amani Johnson (9 pts, 3 rebs); Bre'Lyn Snipes (9 pts, 2 rebs, 1 stl)

THE STORYLINE
The Owls moved to 2-3 on the year after a hard-fought 75-68 win on Tuesday night in the Convocation Center, earning head coach Octavia Blue the first Division I win of her career.

COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On the play of Jah'Che Whitfield…
"She really stepped up tonight. I told her before the game that this is the game for her. We called a lot of play to get her ISO'd onto her more comfortable side and she was just really aggressive. I think she settled for a few outside shots in the first half, because that's what they were giving her. I told her to play to her strengths and she got to her midrange and got to the rim pretty easily."

On the Owls' play in the paint…
"The strength of our team right now is going inside to our post players and having them score. We did that early on and found some success. Chattanooga tried to double us in the post and they made us kick it out. We had some players step up and hit some outside shots tonight. Obviously Amani Johnson has been reliable for us, but Julia [Rodriguez] and Shay [Whitfield] coming in and knocking down 3's loosened things up and opened us up to go back inside down the stretch."

On how it feels to be back in the win column...
"Feels amazing. Obviously, we got our first win here at the Convo. Played against two top-25 teams on the road and liked how we played. I think all of those lessons we learned in those games led us to this win tonight."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls started the game off on the right foot with a 6-0 run, aided by a key block from Alexis Poole. 

This was quickly answered back with a spell from the Mocs, jump started by a 3-point shot from Addie Grace Porter.

Bre'Lyn Snipes and Poole helped the Owls pull ahead to a three-point lead of 17-14 by the end of the first quarter with seven and six points respectively. 

The second quarter started as a back-and-forth affair between the two teams and remained so until a 10-0 streak from the home team; this put the Owls up 30-23 and featured a trifecta from Jodi Mullins and an and-one play from Julia Rodriguez.

Out of the media timeout, the Owls outscored the Mocs 13-3 due to two crucial 3-pointers from Yamani Paul to end the second half with a commanding 43-31 lead.

Amani Johnson carried the momentum into the third quarter by starting the period with a trey, which turned into a 6-0 run and put the Owls up by 17 points.

Chattanooga responded with an 8-0 stretch of their own to bring the score within nine by the media timeout. Dena Jarrells led this surge of points with two three-pointers to keep the Mocs in the game. 

The Owls and Mocs traded shots back and forth to end the third, with KSU maintaining a 10-point lead over UTC. 

To start the final quarter, Chattanooga turned the ball over 3 times in 2 minutes, allowing Kennesaw State to capitalize with a 6-0 patch. 

The fight continued through the final quarter, with both teams pushing hard for each point. The Owls maintained the lead throughout and finished the game victorious with a final score of 75-68.

UP NEXT
The Owls put down the turkey legs to host Hofstra University on Friday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.

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.