KENNESAW, Ga. - A back-and-forth defensive showdown saw Kennesaw State women's basketball come up just short to 2024 Conference USA champion Middle Tennessee, 59-47, Thursday night inside the KSU Convocation Center.
The Owls (5-8, 0-2 CUSA) never trailed by more than six in the first three quarters against a Blue Raiders (11-5, 2-0 CUSA) squad that won 30 games a season ago. A fourth-quarter surge from the road team made the difference in Kennesaw State's second Conference USA game in program history and its first at home.
Senior forward and reigning conference player of the week
Prencis Harden earned a double-double in the first half - her CUSA-leading eighth of the season - on 21 points and a career-best 16 rebounds.
Right behind the team captain were impact performances from
Keiara Griffin (9 points),
Keyarah Berry (8 points, 7 rebounds) and
Carly Hooks (8 points, 3 assists).
The Black and Gold held Middle Tennessee to zero bench points Thursday.
FIRST HALF
Hooks collected the first points of the game on a layup. Harden tallied five of the Owls' first 10 points of the game and was almost halfway to a double-double (5 points, 4 rebounds) just seven minutes in. She had seven rebounds at the end of the first period, followed by Berry's five, as KSU trailed by only two, 16-14.
A defensive start to the second stanza, the two CUSA squads managed just five points combined in the first five minutes of the period. Griffin then sank a trey to even the game at 19 with just over four minutes left in the half. MTSU connected on a trey of their own to make it 22-19 with over two minutes on the clock. The Owls took the lead with under a minute left courtesy of two free throws from Harden, 23-22. MTSU managed one final bucket to take a slim 24-23 lead into the break.
SECOND HALF
KSU retook the lead on Harden free throws, 25-24, before a Blue Raider three. KSU kept the pressure on throughout the third quarter, matching the game again at 29 with 4:55 left in the third. MTSU took a slim lead again before Griffin sank another trey to put the Owls back up one, 32-31, with under three left. The Blue Raiders again pulled out in front, 34-32, before a pair of Berry one-pointers evened the game again with just over two minutes left. Middle Tennessee led 42-36 going into the final frame.
The road team got out to a 5-0 run to open the fourth before free throws ended the scoring rally and got KSU back within nine, 47-38, with over seven minutes left. MTSU got to 49 points before a third Griffin triple put Kennesaw State down by only eight, 49-41. Harden and Hooks combined for six-straight points for the Owls before the Blue Raiders held on for the final few minutes to secure the 59-47 win.
GAME NOTES
- Harden became one of just five Owls in the program's DI history to have multiple seasons of at least eight double-doubles.
- She also moved into sixth in total rebounds (572) and seventh in defensive rebounds (377) in the KSU DI era.
- 24 first-half points for MTSU were their fewest since Feb. 17, 2024 at UTEP (23).
- 59 points was the fewest the Blue Raiders had been held to in a conference game since that same matchup at UTEP.
HEAD COACH OCTAVIA BLUE POSTGAME
UP NEXT
Kennesaw State is back home Saturday, Jan. 11 to square off against Western Kentucky inside the KSU Convocation Center.
