RICHMOND, Ky. - A fourth-quarter rally from Kennesaw State (10-14, 6-5 Atlantic Sun Conference) came up short against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (18-7, 7-4 ASUN), 69-66, Saturday afternoon inside Baptist Health Arena.
The showdown of conference foes that entered the day at 6-4 in league play saw 13 lead changes.
"It was a tough game throughout," head coach
Octavia Blue said postgame. "We battled in that last quarter to get back into the game but we had to fight to get there."
Junior
Prencis Harden led the Black and Gold with 20 points and nine rebounds against the Colonels. It marked her fifth-straight game with at least 10 points, her 15th in the last 16 games and 17th overall in 2023-24.
It was her fourth-straight game scoring 20-or-more.
Keyarah Berry scored 13 against the ASUN foe for her seventh game in double figures this season.
"Keyarah was a bright spot for us," Blue remarked. "She came off the bench and sparked us. She had great attacks to the rim and hit the big three and her confidence grew from there."
Fellow junior
Morgan Dillard tallied her third-consecutive game in double-digit points, scoring 11.
Freshman
Trynce Taylor finished second on the squad with seven rebounds in addition to eight points scored.
Carly Hooks tied Taylor with a team-best three assists.
EKU entered Saturday with a NET ranking of 172. The Owls allowed only eight second-chance points from the Colonels.
Harden opened the scoring Saturday with a bucket that followed an offensive rebound. KSU entered the game leading the conference in offensive boards per game.
After a couple back-and-forth baskets from both sides,
Kailyn Fields put Kennesaw State back in front with the first trey of the contest.
Harden grabbed four rebounds in the first five minutes.
Laura Toffali broke an 11-11 tie with her 16th three of the season to put KSU back in front late in the first.
KSU's defense held EKU scoreless for over three minutes in the middle of the frame but the Colonels led 17-16 after one.
Harden also scored the first points in the second quarter for either side.
EKU went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-20 advantage but the Owls answered with a 7-0 run of their own to take the lead, 27-26, led by a pair of buckets from Dillard.
The two squads evened again at 29 before Hooks' first field goal of the afternoon broke the tie, 31-29, with 3:14 remaining in the half.
Dillard's ninth point of the game capped a 6-0 run over two-and-a-half minutes for KSU and a 13-3 run in just over five minutes, 33-29.
Harden reached double figures at the 1:24 mark in the second quarter to give Kennesaw State its largest lead of the game up to that point, 35-29.
She also had six rebounds on her first-half stat line as the Black and Gold led 35-34 at the half.
KSU out-shot EKU 47.1% to 46.9% through the first 20 minutes and outscoed the Colonels 19-17 in the second quarter.
The first points scored by the Owls in the second half were courtesy of Harden, who evened the game at 37 after an EKU trey.
Dillard crossed double-digits with 4:23 remaining in the third.
Berry notched her first trey of the game towards the end of the period and accounted for the final five Owl points in that quarter.
"She was the reason we were in the position to win this game towards the end," Blue said of the junior.
EKU took a 54-50 advantage into the fourth.
Harden opened the final quarter with a pair of free throws to get the Owls within three, 55-52 with under 8:30 left.
Berry entered double figures with a jumper at 5:08 in the period.
Hooks buried four-straight points for KSU to get the Owls within one, 55-54, with under 2:30 remaining in regulation.
A layup by Berry at 2:06 put KSU in front, 66-65.
Kennesaw State held EKU to zero field goals for the final 4:46 but the Colonels held on to win off free throws, 69-66.
The Black and Gold return to the court for the final two home games of the 2023-24 regular season on Thursday, Feb. 15 against FGCU at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2:00 p.m. versus Stetson for Senior Day.
"We have to continue to do what we've been doing: working on our defense and rebounding," Blue explained about Thursday's matchup with FGCU. "They're one of the highest-scoring teams not only in our conference but in the nation so that has to be our focus."
Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can purchase tickets
here.
