KENNESAW, Ga. - A third-straight double-double from junior
Prencis Harden propelled Kennesaw State (5-9, 1-0 Atlantic Sun Conference) to a 61-42 win in its conference opener over Queens (6-8, 0-1 Atlantic Sun) Saturday inside the KSU Convocation Center.
The Black and Gold went wire-to-wire to open league play, never allowing the Royals to have the lead through all 40 minutes. Saturday was the third time the Owls have gone wire-to-wire this season and first since against Coastal Georgia on Dec. 2, 2023.
Harden continued her impressive season, now at seven-straight games in double-point figures and nine of the last 10. The Swainsboro, Ga. native had 18 points and 14 rebounds against the Royals.
She broke new personal single-season career-highs in points scored (177) and made field goals (64) Saturday afternoon. Her 14 boards also set a new single-game career-high, surpassing previous mark of 12 from Tuesday at Mercer.
Junior
Keyarah Berry finished behind Harden with 13 points for her fourth double-digit-scoring game of the season.
Carly Hooks posted 11 points as well, her 18th game in double digits as an Owl and sixth this season.
Freshman
Trynce Taylor was tied with Hooks for second on the team with six rebounds and tallied her fifth game with 10-or-more points this season.
KSU has now won back-to-back Atlantic Sun home openers for the first time since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Saturday marked the Owls' 10th home ASUN win under Blue. KSU is now 20-15 inside the Convocation Center during her tenure.
The Owls allowed only four first-quarter points and seven fourth-quarter points, their second game with less than 10 points allowed in two separate quarters since Dec. 2, 2023 vs. Coastal Georgia.
Queens could not keep up with the Owls offensively with KSU out-shooting the Royals 45% to 25% from the floor, 40% to 21% from three and 76% to 57% at the charity stripe.
Hooks started the offensive attack for the Owls with a trey, giving KSU an early 3-0 advantage.
Kyndall Golden tallied her conference-leading 26th and 27th blocks of the season. She entered Saturday leading the ASUN in the category by 10.
KSU went on a 7-0 run that lasted over four minutes to stretch its lead to 12-2.
The stingy Owl defense allowed only four first-quarter points from the Royals en route to a 17-4 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Harden had seven points and five boards in the first.
The second period was more of the same for the KSU offense with a three from Berry who ended the half with seven points.
Kennesaw State out-shot the Royals 35.7% to 21.4% in the first half.
With 1:09 left in the second quarter, Harden grabbed her 10th rebound of the game for her third-straight double-double performance.
The Owls out-scored Queens 16-13 in the second to carry a 33-17 lead into the halfway mark.
Queens' offense broke through in the third and cut its deficit to as low as 10 but the Owls never trailed by less than double-digits in the second half.
A quick burst from the Owl offense including threes from
Kailyn Fields and
Laura Toffali put the Owls up by 18, 51-33, heading to the fourth.
The final frame was back to business for KSU, allowing only nine points after the Royals posted 16 in the third. A three from Hooks gave her a second-straight game in double figures.
KSU's defense forced a Queens scoring drought of 3:20 and got the lead back out to as much as 21.
KSU scored the final three points to secure the 61-42 victory. The Owls entered Saturday with the highest average opponent NET ranking in the conference (120).
The win gave Kennesaw State its first 1-0 start in conference play since the 2016-17 season.
2023-24 marks the final season of competition for the Owls in the Atlantic Sun Conference before moving to Conference USA on July 1.
Kennesaw State returns to the court Thursday, Jan. 11 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against North Florida inside the KSU Convocation Center. Fans can purchase tickets
here.
