Score: Kennesaw State - 49, Mercer - 66
Records: Kennesaw State (2-5, 0-0), Mercer (5-3, 0-0)
Key Players: Jah'Che Whitfield (15 pts, 4 rebs); Stacie Jones (season-high 11 pts, season-high 7 rebs); Gabi Legister (7 pts, 6 rebs, 2 assts)
THE STORYLINE
Stacie Jones had an emergence Monday night in Mercer's Hawkins Arena, helping to keep the Owls in contention in the fourth quarter; however, the Bears did enough to close out the win in Macon, Ga.
COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On the game…
"We lost shooters in that second quarter, especially with their no. 5 getting hot. They were scoring in the back of our press. That second quarter put us in a hole that was difficult to climb out of. We had a chance late on, but we ran out of gas."
On the play of Stacie Jones…
"We've been waiting for her to come around. I think tonight was a game where she really showed her strengths by getting on the offensive glass and providing some put-backs. Her athleticism, her ability to run up and down the court and her ability to contain guards really showed tonight. I was happy to see her step up tonight."
On the improvements of her team…
"The fact that we were better than them on the boards and better from the free-throw line were definitely things to build off of. We've been struggling from the foul line, so to have the ability to get to the line as much as we had tonight showed that we were being aggressive. Then we actually knocked them down in high-pressure situations, which helped us battle back and stay in the game. Rebounding has always been a characteristic of our ball club and I'm really glad we showed up on the boards tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls continued their trend of fabulous starts with an early 6-0 lead off of buckets from Alexis Poole and Bre'Lyn Snipes.
Jones began to make her presence felt at the 2:48 mark of the first quarter, stuffing a second-chance opportunity back in to take a 10-9 lead for the visitors.
The Bears would go on a 7-2 run to end the quarter, pulling a 16-15 advantage into the second.
Mercer began to flex the muscle that brought the team to last season's NCAA Tournament and outscored Kennesaw State 23-11 in the second quarter.
Jones scored more points than any other player in the third quarter and it was her two buckets in a row that cut the Owls' deficit to 41-30.
Amani Johnson got into the game late in the third quarter, hitting a pullup shot from beyond the arc to decrease the disadvantage to 51-36.
The Macon, Ga. team's largest lead was 20 points, which they held last at 58-38 with 7:41 left in the matchup.
The Owls didn't let up at all, going on an 11-2 run to bring the Owls within 11 points. The positive spell was helped by four out of a possible four free throws.
KSU had one of its best nights from the foul line all season, shooting 13-for-16 for 81.3% from free throws.
The Bears began to play harder on the glass, which aided them in closing out a 66-49 win.
UP NEXT
The Owls return to the Convocation Center to take on FAU on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
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.
