KENNESAW, Ga. - The second collegiate double-double for freshman
Trynce Taylor and a gritty defensive effort lifted Kennesaw State (9-13, 5-4 Atlantic Sun Conference) past Lipscomb (12-10, 5-4 ASUN), 62-59, Saturday afternoon inside the KSU Convocation Center.
Taylor finished with a stat line of 12 points, 10 rebounds and three steals Saturday. It marked her seventh game in double figures in her first season of college basketball and first time in back-to-back outings. The Alpharetta, Ga. native had 13 Thursday vs. Austin Peay.
Leading the Owls in points Saturday was
Morgan Dillard with 15. She added seven boards to her ledger in her 18th start at KSU.
Keyarah Berry joined Taylor and Dillard in double-digit points with 10. It was the seventh-such game of her Kennesaw State career.
KSU forced Lipscomb to 3-for-31 (9.7%) shooting from beyond the arc and 26.2% from the floor, soaring to its 23rd all-time win over the Bisons.
Kennesaw State improved to 15-3 against the Tennessee school inside the Convocation Center.
Taylor secured second-chance points for Kennesaw State's first points of the game - and first for either side.
The freshman tallied four of KSU's opening six points Saturday.
Laura Toffali then sunk a trey to put the Black and Gold up 9-3.
Kailyn Fields followed the junior moments later with a three of her own. She led the Black and Gold with five assists against the Bisons.
Dillard led the Owls with six first-quarter points as KSU led after one, 18-9. The Bisons averaged 15 points in first quarters entering Saturday.
The Owl defense allowed only two Lipscomb field goals in the period while the offense shot 41.2% from the floor.
Kennesaw State forced Lipscomb to miss each of its first 23 three-point attempts.
Carly Hooks started the scoring for KSU in the second quarter on a reverse layup.
Kayla Massop and Berry joined Taylor in the offensive production with layups of their own to put the Owls up 26-15 with 5:51 left in the second.
KSU reached 30 points on more second-chance points, this time from
Layla Hood.
Hood beat the halftime buzzer on another second-chance bucket to give KSU a 34-24 lead at the break. KSU held Lipscomb to 25% shooting in the half.
A steal from Fields translated to the first points of the second half at the 7:56 mark in the third from Dillard.
Berry joined in on the three-pointer party to put the Owls up 41-29.
A couple minutes later the junior from Rockmart, Ga. added another to extend KSU's lead to 46-33.
KSU held Lipscomb scoreless from three for the first 28:45 of the contest before the Bisons finally broke through with a trey. The Owls forced another miss from three moments later and took a 49-37 lead into the final quarter.
Kennesaw State held Lipscomb to 1-for-10 from three in the third.
Lipscomb outscored KSU 11-6 in the fourth before a three-point play extended the Owl advantage to 56-49.
A Hooks trey responded to a pair of Bisons free throws to put the Owls back up nine, 59-50, with under three remaining.
Lipscomb then closed the gap with eight consecutive points to get within one, 59-58.
After free throws put KSU back up by three, 62-59, the Owl defense stood tall again and forced another missed three from the Bisons to give Kennesaw State its ninth victory of the season and fifth in conference play.
The Owls never trailed at any point in the contest.
The Black and Gold return to the court Thursday, Feb. 8 on the road at Bellarmine. KSU's next game in the Convo is set for Thursday, Feb. 15 against FGCU. Fans can purchase tickets to the final two home games of the 2023-24 regular season
here.
