KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State women's basketball erased a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit and soared past in-state rival Georgia State, 65-62, Thursday night inside the KSU Convocation Center.

After the Panthers (6-5) surged in the second and third periods and got out to a 56-44 advantage with 6:11 left, the Owls (5-5) stormed back behind a 13-0 run to collect their second-straight win and third in the last four games.

KSU went up 57-56 with 2:09 remaining on a pair of Carly Hooks free throws that were answered by two points from GSU. Keyarah Berry made an incredible jumper to retake the lead for KSU, 59-58, before Keiara Griffin drew an offensive foul from the Panthers. A Prencis Harden layup put KSU up 61-58 with 0:37 left and the Owls never surrendered the lead.

Harden led the Black and Gold in scoring with a career-best 26 points while Griffin paced the team with 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Hooks also reached double figures with 13 points of her own. Griffin is the first Owl this season to block at least four shots in a game.

Kennesaw State has now won three-straight home games in its series with GSU and head coach Octavia Blue is now 9-1 inside the Convo against teams from the state of Georgia.

FIRST HALF
The Black and Gold got off to a hot start offensively, accruing 10 points within the first 2:30 led by treys from Kailyn Fields. KSU got out to a 12-6 lead on a Harden jumper with 6:08 left in the first. Fields sank another trey at the 3:16 mark to answer a GSU basket, 17-10. She went back-to-back on three's to extend the advantage to 10, 20-12. The Owls led 25-18 after one. Fields led the way with nine points, all on shots from beyond the arc.
 
GSU went on a 9-0 run about midway through the second quarter to cut its deficit to one, 30-29. The Panthers sank a shot before the buzzer to take a 31-30 advantage at the half.
 
SECOND HALF
Georgia State scored the first two baskets of the half before a Harden jumper got KSU on the board. The Panthers held a 39-34 advantage at the first media timeout and held a 49-40 lead after the third.

The road team started the final period on a 7-2 run before the Owls' 13-0 run that spanned over four minutes. Harden led the way with 12 of KSU's 25 fourth-quarter points while half of Griffin's blocks (2) and almost half of her rebounds (4) came down the stretch in the final 10 minutes. GSU got within one, 61-60, with under 30 seconds left before a fastbreak layup from Berry, a stingy defensive effort in the closing stages and two Hooks free throws sealed the 65-52 home victory.

GAME NOTES

• KSU's defense forced an 0-for-7 three-point start from the Panthers, who finished 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. Georgia State's 32.4% three-point average entered the day fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.
• 5-5 is Kennesaw State's best start through the first 10 games since 2019-20.
• Thursday marked Blue's 40th win as the Owls' head coach.
• Harden moved into the top 10 in career field goals made in KSU's DI era (291).
• Hooks' four assists moved her into eighth in KSU DI history with 166 in her Owl career.
• KSU is now 8-4 when Harden reaches 20 points or more.
• Harden set single-game highs for KSU in points (26) and field goals made (11).
• Fields set a new career-best with three made treys.

HEAD COACH OCTAVIA BLUE POSTGAME


UP NEXT
Kennesaw State has 10 days off before returning home against in-state foe Mercer to close out 2024 and the non-conference schedule on Monday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets here. Read Full Article