DELAND, Fla. - No. 8 Kennesaw State (11-19, 7-9 Atlantic Sun) fell 73-60 to No. 7 Austin Peay (16-15, 8-8 ASUN) in the opening round of the 2024 ASUN tournament to conclude the 2023-24 campaign.
Senior
Kyndall Golden highlighted the night for KSU with a three-block outing, breaking the Kennesaw State Division I single-season record in the category with a total of 49 this season. The previous mark of 47 was set in 2009-10.
All-ASUN Second Team selection
Prencis Harden once again led the Black and Gold in points (19) and rebounds (6). It marked her fourth postseason game played at KSU.
Joining the junior in double-point figures was
Carly Hooks with 17 and
Keyarah Berry with 11. Harden and Hooks each had three steals. Freshman
Kailyn Fields tied Harden for the team-lead with three assists.
The Owls' 2023-24 season concludes after starting off the ASUN schedule 4-0 for the first time in program history and posting the longest regular-season ASUN win streak in team history at six games. Head coach
Octavia Blue also became the fastest KSU head coach to 30 DI wins, breaking the previous mark by five games.
Trynce Taylor joined Harden in postseason honors after being named to the All-ASUN Freshman team following three Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Week honors. She joined
Amani Johnson as the only two Owls to win at least three.
2023-24 marked Kennesaw State's final season in the Atlantic Sun before moving to Conference USA on July 1.
STAT OF THE GAME
On top of breaking the KSU Division I single-season blocks record, Friday marked Golden's 16th multi-block game of the season. The senior from Atlanta ended 2023-24 with seven in her final two games.
THE FIRST HALF
Austin Peay took an early lead in the opening frame and led 18-9 after one. Both Golden's record-tying and record-breaking blocks came in the first quarter. Down 26-12 with 5:25 left in the second, a Fields trey started an 8-2 run for the Owls to get within eight, 28-20. Despite being outscored 17-15 in the second 10 minutes, the Governors led 34-25 at the break.
Harden led the team with seven points in the first half.
SECOND HALF
After APSU scored the opening bucket of the second half, the Owls went on a scorching 8-0 run featuring four points apiece from Harden and Hooks. Austin Peay went on a small 4-0 run to extend their advantage back out to seven, 40-33, with just over seven remaining in the third.
Berry then made her presence known with a layup that kick-started another 8-0 run for KSU, giving the Owls their first lead of the night, 41-40, with 3:43 left in the third. Kennesaw State's lead extended out to five, 49-44, with 1:19 left after back-to-back free throws from
Laura Toffali. KSU led 49-48 going into the fourth.
Berry started the fourth with a jumper to put KSU back up by three, 51-48. Following a lead change and two more ties, the Governors managed to secure the 73-60 victory.
POSTGAME
"Good for Kyndall, this is a kid who had a huge opportunity and a bigger role for us this season. To etch your name in the record books here at Kennesaw State really means that you've done something and made your presence felt. So proud of her to be able to have that accolade as she graduates," Blue said of Golden's achievement Friday night.
"Austin Peay came out really hot and we got into our huddle and I called an early timeout to settle our club down. We understood that punch didn't mean we were out and there was so much more game to play. We just had to settle down, play our brand of basketball and get going. Our kids understood what they needed to do and that's why they came out in the third quarter, really took the opportunity and got the lead," Blue on KSU's third-quarter surge.
"There were a lot of lessons learned about this team. We juggled all sorts of lineups trying to find our identity - seven newcomers and six players who had only been in the program for one year - just trying to get that continuity, that gel and connectivity. Some games were great and others we were just searching for it. I'm looking forward to having a little bit more consistency. We return most of our roster back so it'll be an offseason of improving our IQ, our shot selection, our efficiency, all of these things and we have to learn how to tough-out games," Blue said on the 2023-24 season as a whole looking ahead to 2024-25.
SEASON NOTES
- Golden ends the 2023-24 season with 63 career blocks, sixth in KSU DI history.
- Her 1.63 blocks-per-game average is also now the best in Kennesaw State Division I single-season history.
- Opponents averaged only 33.6 rebounds per game against the Owls, the lowest mark in program history.
- KSU's 100 blocks this season is fifth in Owl Division I history.
- The Owls had 252 steals, good for sixth among KSU DI single-seasons.
- Allowing only 64.2 points per game, the 2023-24 squad posted the fourth-best scoring defense in Owl DI history.
- Harden's 104 made free throws this season finished tied for fifth on KSU DI single-season record list.
