Score: Kennesaw State 59, Austin Peay 65
Records: Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-2), Austin Peay (9-6, 4-1)
Key Players: Carly Hooks (17 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl); Stacie Jones (15 pts, 5-of-7 FGs, 6 rebs, 1 blk, 1 stl); Jah'Che Whitfield (11 pts, 7 rebs, 1 stl)
THE STORYLINE
Kennesaw State fell 65-59 at Austin Peay Saturday afternoon at the Winfield Dunn Center. KSU pulled in front late in the fourth after Jah'Che Whitfield knocked down a fadeaway jumper and Amani Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to go over the 1,500-point mark for her career. However, the Governors closed on an 11-2 run to hold off the Owls. Carly Hooks led Kennesaw State in scoring for the second straight contest, scoring 17 points and Stacie Jones finished with 15 to power the offense.
COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On today's performance…
"It was a battle throughout and we knew that coming in. We didn't shoot the ball from three particularly well and made a couple of errors in the fourth quarter that were costly as well as not hitting free throws down the stretch. That was a good team that we played today and just had to battle to try and get the win but came up short."
On battling back…
"It's very important that we are resilient. We know that basketball is a game of runs. When someone throws a punch, you have to throw a counter. I was really proud that we were able to answer but ultimately, a couple of errors down the stretch cost us a chance to win this game."
On attacking the offensive glass…
"Seventeen offensive rebounds are huge but a lot of those were offensive putbacks around the rim that I would like to see us make. Unfortunately, we missed a bunch of easy shots in the paint. It was a physical game, but we have to learn to finish better through contact."
On takeaways from today…
"We have to learn how to battle and to counterpunch, which we did today. We can't hang our heads too low on a loss or too high on a win. We have a really tough team coming in Thursday in Jacksonville State for a home game that will be good to be back at home. We just have to be ready to defend because they are a similar team that likes to get to the basket. So, we have to correct those errors, finish through contact and shoot better from the field."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Austin Peay got off to an early 5-0 lead before Lyndsey Whilby stopped the run with a triple at the top of the key. The Governors responded with a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to go up 12-3 with 4:37 left in the first quarter.
KSU closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run behind buckets from Johnson, Keyarah Berry and Gabi Legister to cut the deficit to five, 16-11.
After two quick buckets by the Govs, the Owls answered with an 11-0 run to take their first lead, 22-20 with 3:30 left in the half. Hooks and Jones combined for all 11 points during the stretch.
APSU scored eight straight points to go back up 28-22 with just over a minute left in the second quarter. KSU finished the half scoring the final four points to pull within two, 28-26.
Kennesaw State outscored the Govs 6-2 over the first three minutes of the third quarter to retake the lead, 32-30. Austin Peay countered with a 6-0 run of its own to go back up four, 36-32, with 4:06 left in the third.
Hooks, Whitfield and Jones scored six straight points for the Owls to take the lead once again with 1:04 remaining, 40-38. The Governors closed the final 37 seconds on a 4-0 run to regain the advantage.
Trailing 53-47, KSU went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a Whilby three-pointer and a fadeaway jumper from Whitfield to go up 55-53. Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws, which put her past the 1,500-point mark in her career to push the lead back to two, 57-55.
A four-point play with less than two minutes remaining from Yamia Johnson put Austin Peay back in front, 59-57.
The Owls had three great looks down four in the final 30 seconds but couldn't convert on the open looks. The Governors put the game away at the free throw line to hold off KSU, 65-59.
UP NEXT
KSU returns home for a matchup against Jacksonville State Thursday at 7 p.m. at the KSU 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.
