Box Score

Score: Kennesaw State 78, Lipscomb 62
Records: Kennesaw State (7-11, 2-11), Lipscomb (11-9, 8-6)
Key Players: Amani Johnson (20 pts, 8 rebs, 6 assts, 5 stls) Jah'Che Whitfield (21 pts, 7 rebs), Gabi Legister (12 pts, 7 rebs), Bre'Lyn Snipes (10 pts, 6 rebs)

THE STORYLINE
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team played hard from whistle to whistle as it outscored the Lipscomb Bisons in every quarter to win 78-62 in the final game of the regular season. Amani Johnson and Jah'Che Whitfield capped their junior season with a combined 41 points, more than half of the team's total afternoon tally.

COACH KHADIJA HEAD QUOTES
On closing Out the season with a win…
"The unique thing about basketball in the month of March, it erases everything. March, it erases all of your past victories, all of your past losses, your heartbreak and your joys. The month of March for the game of basketball is your opportunity to make all that wrong right and to continue to make all that right perfect."

On her biggest takeaways…
"Our kids have a lot of heart and the reason I say that, is we're in the situation of regardless of the outcome today, we're in the 8/9 game in the conference tournament. So our kids, they had a choice. They could have just settled and waited until Wednesday. Or they could go tonight and play hard, play dedicated and play with a mission. We're proud to represent Kennesaw State and I tell you what, all sports that our now playing the spring, they did a fantastic job and we just jumped on the bandwagon and got on the Owls' success." 

On the team's momentum…
"I think it's fantastic, it's a great way to cap off our regular season play. We had four players in double digits. We had two players with 20 points: Jah'Che and Amani and they're roommates. So I didn't know if they came up with a certain pact before the game, but I'll take it. The win was great. The four players in double digits...fantastic. But my highlight of tonight, we celebrated academic success and we highlighted kids that got above a 3.0 and it was such an honor to see my entire roster walk out at halfcourt because they're all 3.0 and above. They're the epitome of student-athlete. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
There wasn't much to separate the two teams in the early going, with both teams exchanging buckets until the teams were tied 13-13 with 5:21 left in the first quarter. Six of those points came from three shots by Whitfield, who has had a late-season renaissance since the weekend series against Stetson. 

Breanna Hoover was back in the mix for the Owls and she hit a big trifecta to give her team a 23-18 lead with a little over a minute left to go in the period. 

The Bisons would come back down the court to score a three of their own to bring the scoreline closer and head into the second quarter down 23-21. Both Whitfield and Gabi Legister carried a perfect field-goal percentage into the next 10 minute increment, with Whitfield going four-for-four and Legister going three-for-three.

Kennesaw State made most of their ground in the second quarter, outscoring Lipscomb 25-14. Johnson would start an 11-0 run for the Owls with a 3-pointer and scored five more points in a row with two free throws and another trey. Bre'Lyn Snipes had the highest-scoring game of her freshman year on Friday afternoon; the highlight of her 10-point night was an and-one play on a layup to cap the scoring streak and put her team up 36-24 with five minutes left in the half. 

KSU went into the locker room at halftime with a 48-35 lead and it was all thanks to the play of its points guard, as Johnson grabbed 10 points, three helpers, two boards and two steals in the second quarter alone. The woman who made her reputation this season as the Owls' best playmaker of all time had a ridiculous statline tonight, ending her game with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. 

Both teams came out for the second half and started playing tentatively. Kennesaw State's defense was on top of their game, letting up only nine points in the third quarter to protect their biggest halftime lead in ASUN play this season. 

Whitfield had another great quarter, with the Winthrop transfer scoring seven points in the quarter. Legister added defensive stability and her team was plus-six with her on the court. 

Lipscomb had one more quarter to try and close the gap on the home team's 59-44 lead. This was a goal that the Bisons began to achieve at the beginning of the fourth quarter, going on a quick 6-0 run to chip away at the deficit; however, the Owls did not waver and Hoover ended a sequential 8-0 period with a three. All of Hoover's field goals came from beyond the arch and she ended her night three-for-seven for nine points. 

Johnson wanted in on the 3-point action, so she snatched a defensive board and swished a three of her own to extend the Owls' lead to 72-54 with 4:19 left to go in the contest. 

The biggest KSU lead of the night came 1:30 later as Legister converted a free throw for a 19-point, 75-56 advantage with 2:49 left on the clock. 

The Bisons would only hear the net swish two more times in the regular-season conclusion for the two competing teams and the Owls would close out their 2021 slate with their second conference win. 

NOTES

- Whitfield tied her career high of 21 points, going 9-16 in FG's.

- Johnson scored 20 points followed by eight rebounds and six assists. 

- Legister scored 12 points followed by seven rebounds. 

- KSU went 29-67 from the field.

- KSU had eight steals, double the amount of Lipscomb's four.

- KSU shot 81% from the free throw line, making 13 out of their 16 attempts. 

- KSU scored 18 second-chance points. 

- KSU outrebounded Lipscomb defensively 28-25.

- Lipscomb had 15 turnovers with KSU scoring 12 points off those. 

UP NEXT
The Owls will play Jacksonville in the ASUN Conference Tournament play-in game between the No. 8 and 9 seeded teams. KSU and the Dolphins will tip off at Kennesaw State University's Marietta campus on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 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.