Score: Kennesaw State 71, Lipscomb 53
Records: Kennesaw State (7-8, 3-1), Lipscomb (9-7, 3-1)
Key Players: Carly Hooks (Career-high 21 pts, 5 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks, 2 asts); Jah'Che Whitfield (14 pts, 6-of-10 FGs, 7 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk); Stacie Jones (12 pts, 5 rebs, 1 blk, 1 stl); Amani Johnson (11 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 1 blk, 1 stl)
THE STORYLINE
Kennesaw State used a huge second and fourth quarter to knock off Lipscomb 71-53 Thursday night at Allen Arena for its largest road win in three years. KSU improved to 3-1 in ASUN Conference play for the first time since the 2008-09 season and has won six of its last eight contests. KSU was once again dominant in converting points off turnovers, outscoring Lipscomb 16-2 in the category and outrebounding the Bisons 45-34. Carly Hooks scored a career-high 21 points. Jah'Che Whitfield finished with 16, Stacie Jones chipped in 12 and Amani Johnson added 11 to pace the Owl attack.
COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On tonight's performance…
"It was a huge win against a very good team, a team that entered the game with a 3-0 record in conference play. Our ladies were locked in on the game plan and that was all about our defense. That's what we talked about, and we got great contributions from a lot of our players off the bench."
On the three-game winning streak…
"It's a part of building a winning program and that winning mentality. Obviously, we have a lot of season left and we just have to keep getting better every game."
On Hooks' scoring ability…
"Carly was on today. Her speed caused problems for Lipscomb. She's able to take the ball and drive the floor 94 feet. She can score or distribute to her teammates. Anytime Carly is attacking like that with a head start on our opponents, she's able to generate transition buckets for us."
On the rebounding and defense…
"It was part of the game plan. We told our team we had to defend the three-point line and that they had a ton of great shooters. Lipscomb came in making seven three's a game. So, we wanted to focus on limiting the amount of three-pointers and, we wanted to get the ball inside offensively. I thought Stacie Jones and Gabi Legister came in and were huge post presences for us in the paint."
HOW IT HAPPENED
KSU got off to a scorching start making its first five shots to build an early 10-5 lead. Johnson knocked down a pull-up jumper, Hooks scored six points and Jones added two during the stretch.
Lipscomb answered with a 10-3 run to take its first lead, 15-13 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. Kennesaw State held the Bisons 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes.
Jones, Hooks and Gabi Legister combined for 13 points as the Owls went on a 19-4 run over the first 7:30 of the second quarter to extend the lead to 15, 34-19.
The Bisons scored the final five points of the half as the Owls took a 10-point lead into the break.
After holding Lipscomb to just one three-pointer in the first half, the Bisons knocked down three triples in the first seven minutes of the second half to cut the KSU lead to four, 39-35.
Hooks and Whitfield scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to eight, 43-35, with just over a minute left in the third.
Johnson knocked down a huge three on the opening possession in the fourth and Whitfield followed with a mid-range jumper to go up 50-41.
KSU scored four points in one possession with a nice sequence after Jones had an and-one opportunity, Whitifield pulled down the miss and scored on the putback as the Owls stretched their lead to 13, 56-43, with 7:12 remaining.
Kennesaw State outscored Lipscomb 15-10 over the final five minutes to earn the 71-53 road win.
UP NEXT
KSU travels to Clarksville, Tenn. to face off against Austin Peay Saturday at 4 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.
