Score: Kennesaw State 57, Liberty 65
Records: Kennesaw State (9-13, 5-6), Liberty (15-7, 9-2)
Key Players: Jah'Che Whitfield (19 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks, 1 ast); Amani Johnson (10 pts, 6 asts, 3 rebs); Prencis Harden (9 pts, career-high 10 rebs, 2 stls, 2 asts, 1 blk); Lyndsey Whilby (9 pts, 3-of-5 3FGs, 2 rebs, 1 stl)
THE STORYLINE
Still short a few players, Kennesaw State displayed a valiant effort in a 65-57 loss at Liberty Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. After falling behind in double-digits, KSU outscored Liberty in the second half and held the Flames to just 25 points in the final 20 minutes before running out of time. Jah'Che Whitfield again led the Owls in scoring, registering 19 points, seven boards, three steals, two blocks and an assist. The Sumter, S.C. native has now led the team in scoring in nine games this season. Amani Johnson added 10 points and six assists, Prencis Harden chipped in nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Lyndsey Whilby knocked down three triples to power the Kennesaw State offense.
COACH OCTAVIA BLUE QUOTES
On today's performance…
"We had a slow start in the first quarter even though it was just a 19-14 game. We had a scoring drought for over three minutes in the first half and Liberty was able to pull away a little bit in the second quarter. We had some trouble keeping them off the offensive glass and defending the three-point line as they hit five three-pointers in the first half."
What outscoring Liberty and holding them to 25 points in the second half…
"Yeah, we played our butts off in the second half. As we started to gain more and more momentum, we believed that we could win this game. We had some players step up with Laura Toffali not playing many minutes the entire season, she hit a big three, Jah'Che Whitfield had 19 points and Prencis Harden had a near double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. It was just some great contributions, and I was really proud of the fight we showed."
On the key differences between the first half and second today…
"I think we locked down defensively. It's a battle and that's a team with a lot of size and we gave up 18 offensive rebounds, but we kept fighting. We kept battling and we were able to make a couple of shots. We had a couple of moments there where we were able to press and turn them over which sped them up. But again, being shorthanded we couldn't play our brand of basketball, pressing for 40 minutes and causing some extra possessions without forcing turnovers within our press.
On Prencis Harden's near double-double…
"She's been able to get a few more minutes than she was earlier. She's always been a great rebounder and we get to see that every day in practice. I think her confidence is starting to grow. Again, she was a starter for the first portion of the season, but she has gotten back to her ways, rebounding and taking people off the dribble to finish those baskets. I felt like she really battled and rebounded today against people that were four or five inches taller."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Whitfield and Stacie Jones started strong for the Owls with a couple of early buckets as KSU grabbed a quick 4-3 lead.
Liberty answered with a 12-6 run to go back in front, 15-10 with 4:51 left in the first.
KSU forced seven first-quarter turnovers, outscoring the Lady Flames 10-4 in points off turnovers to cut the deficit to 15-14 late.
LU closed out the quarter by scoring the final four points to grab a 19-14 lead after one.
Liberty held Kennesaw State scoreless from the field over the first 6:40 of the second quarter, seeing its lead increase to 31-16.
Gabi Legister and Whitfield broke through and scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within 11, 31-20 with 2:51 left in the half.
After Mya Berkman knocked down a pair of free throws, Whilby followed with a huge three to cut the deficit to single-digits, 33-25.
The Lady Flames finished the half on a 7-1 run to go into the half up 40-26.
Liberty pushed its lead to 18 in the third quarter, but Kennesaw State stormed back by going on a 16-5 run to pull within nine, 51-42, highlighted by a three-point play from Harden and a Johnson triple. Audrey Clark closed out the quarter with a triple to extend Liberty's lead back to double digits.
Whitfield scored six of the first eight points of the fourth quarter as the Owls made it a seven-point game, 56-49 with just under six minutes left in regulation.
Whilby knocked down her third triple of the game to make it a 58-52 game at the five-minute mark. LU answered with five straight points to extend its lead to 11, 63-52 with 3:53 to go.
The Owls refused to back down, going on a quick 5-0 run, capped off by a Laura Toffali three-pointer to cut it to 63-57 with 2:39 on the clock.
Kennesaw State's defense got the stops it needed on defense over the final 2:30 but neither team hit a field goal during the stretch and Liberty held off KSU 65-57.
UP NEXT
KSU returns home to host Eastern Kentucky Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center for Kennesaw Community Night.
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.
