Score: Kennesaw State 56, FGCU 82
Records: Kennesaw State (12-15, 8-8), FGCU (27-3, 15-1)
Key Players: Jah'Che Whitfield (16 pts, 6-9 FGs, 3 rebs, 2 blks); Amani Johnson (9 pts, 5 asts, 1 reb, 1 stl)
THE STORYLINE
Kennesaw State shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and outscored the Eagles 19-9 in the fourth, but a 33-point third quarter from the away team was too much as the Owls fell 82-56 to No. 24 FGCU Thursday night at the KSU Convocation Center. Jah'Che Whitfield led the offensive attack for the Owls, scoring a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Amani Johnson added nine points and five assists.
COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On tonight's performance…
"Obviously you have a top-25 team coming into your home court, we needed to have a better start than what we did. I think defensively, we broke down early with a lack of communication and stopping them in transition."
On bouncing back after the third quarter…
"The third quarter was huge. We had a goal to limit them to 18 points a quarter which would have given them a total of 72 points on the night and we wanted to try and score 73 points. We average 69 points a game so that would be just four extra points. We had a goal in mind. I think coming out in the third quarter we just gave up way too many open looks. Again, not communicating in defensive transition and that was something we had to learn from. I thought that we had spurts in the game where we looked alive and like us but we kind of got on our heels a little bit and just didn't communicate properly to be there for one another on the defensive end."
On positive takeways to get ready for Stetson on Saturday…
"We were down by 40 at one point in this game and one of the things that I talked about to my team throughout the season is being resilient. That team isn't 40 points better than us and we need to defend The Nest and play hard the way that we know we can and have some pride about ourselves. We were able to finish the game by just tightening up defensively and winning that fourth quarter by scoring."
HOW IT HAPPENED
FGCU jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead going 5-for-9 from the floor in the first four minutes.
Kennesaw State responded with eight straight points, highlighted by a trio of layups from Lyndsey Whilby, Keyarah Berry and Johnson.
The Eagles countered with an 18-4 run over the end of the first quarter and the first five minutes of the second to extend their lead to 28-12.
KSU hit seven of its next eight shots and the final five of the half to cut into the FGCU lead to make it a 9-point game, 36-27, with 1:08 left in the half. Whitfield scored nine points, Johnson added four and freshman Laura Toffali knocked down a tough mid-range jumper for the Owls during the stretch.
FGCU closed the half on a 4-0 run and hit a layup as time expired to take a 40-27 lead into the break.
The Owls shot 50 percent (12-for-24) in the first half and were led by Whitfield's 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Florida Gulf Coast pushed its lead to 55-33 after starting the third quarter on a 15-5 run in the opening five minutes of the half.
Kennesaw State outscored the Eagles 19-9 in the fourth quarter, but a 33-point third quarter from the visiting team proved too much to overcome as the Owls fell 82-56.
UP NEXT
The Owls host Stetson for Senior Day/Diversity and Inclusion Day Saturday at 2 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.
