MIAMI – Kennesaw State women's basketball scored 24 points in the final quarter to take a one-point lead with 11 seconds remaining, but a heartbreaking fast-break layup spoiled the comeback effort, falling 65-64 to FIU on Saturday afternoon at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The Owls (8-12, 3-6 CUSA) were led by junior
Lee Lee Willis, who scored 16 points off the bench.
Keyarah Berry added 14 points of her on own on 7-of-11 shooting, while
Prencis Harden finished with 12 points – including eight in the first half – and seven rebounds.
Throughout the second half, KSU showed resilience, with key plays from Willis, Berry, and Harden down the stretch. Both the Owls and the Panthers (9-11, 5-4 CUSA) shot better than 50 percent from the field in the furious fourth quarter – 57.1 percent and 53.3 percent, respectively.
First Half:
Keyarah Berry made a quick start by scoring within seconds but was quickly called for a foul. KSU and FIU exchanged early points, with FIU then adding a free throw. The game quickly intensified as both teams raced up and down the court. Berry blocked a FIU player's shot but then turned the ball over. Following a two-minute respite from scoring, FIU scored back-to-back, but
Carly Hooks swiftly responded for the Owls with a basket of her own. FIU then added another two points, followed by
Prencis Harden sinking a jumpshot.
As the game progressed, both teams turned to their defense. Despite a forceful takeaway by Harden, she missed the shot. Harden attempted to score twice but missed, leaving Hooks to finish the play, only for FIU to match the effort immediately.
The second quarter began with
Lee Lee Willis putting two points on the board, before once again being countered by FIU. Harden then began to heat up, adding another basket. The Owls struggled against FIU's defense but remained resilient. With ball movement that ended in an assist from Fields,
Taylor Cullinan fired two three-pointers in quick succession to pull KSU within five points with 42 seconds remaining in the half.
At the half, Harden led in points for the first half with eight points.
Second Half:
KSU made a concerted effort to get the ball in the paint, getting layups from Griffin and Berry quickly into the third quarter. Berry would score six points herself in the quarter and KSU would get 10 points in the paint in the third. Despite a strong opening the half, the Owls went more than 5 minutes without a field goal to end the quarter and keep FIU out in the front.
In the fourth quarter, the back and fourth continued with Berry kicking things off with a quick two points, but FIU quickly countered with a second-chance basket of its own. Willis made a key interception, preventing a FIU score, and later hit a crucial three-pointer. After an out-of-bounds play, KSU regained possession and
Carly Hooks found Griffin in the paint for another layup to pull KSU within 51-47.
The Panthers scored six unanswered after that but the Owls refused to go away as Berry knocked down a pullup jumpshot with 4:55 remaining. KSU continued to chip away at the lead with free throws by Hooks and a layup by Berry. Willis' driving layup with 2:44 cut the deficit to just one before FIU responded with a layup.
FIU led by five with 37 seconds to go, but Willis knocked down two free throws and then Harden knocked down two after an intentional foul by FIU that kept the ball with KSU.
Out of the timeout, Willis knocked down a running layup with 11 seconds left before FIU responded on the other end with a driving layup of its own for the 65-64 final.
Head Coach Octavia Blue Postgame:
"A hard-fought loss. I thought we came in and dug ourselves a hole, but we battled back throughout the course of the game and we understand that's what it's going to be in this league, in Conference USA, especially out here on the road. We made a late run in the fourth and made some great defensive stops. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to get the last, most important defensive stop, which was with 10 seconds left, we allowed one of their players to dribble the length of the floor and get an uncontested layup."
"We just have to learn how to be locked in and play until the horn sounds and the final whistle blows and finish out a hard-fought game. Obviously, it's disappointing to fight that hard to get back into the game and have 10 seconds to get the win with one stop, but I'm proud of the effort that we gave. We just have to keep chugging away and understand what it takes to close out a game."
On 24-point fourth quarter
"We made some defensive stops and we were able to score on the other side. I think we turned up our pressure a little bit, we drew some fouls, and that was what we needed to do to come back into the game – stop the clock, get stops and make the free throws. That gave us the opportunity to get in the game and ultimately win the game, but again, we just weren't able to close it out on the final play and get a stop on defense."
Game Notes:
- Willis' 16 points off the bench outscored FIU's bench production on its own; KSU finished with 22 points from non-starters.
- KSU forced FIU into 21 turnovers, scoring 23 points off them.
- KSU shot 46.7 percent in the second half, including 6-of-10 from Berry and 5-of-6 from Willis to mount the comeback attempt.
Up Next:
The Owls remain on their four-game road swing when they travel to take on Western Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.) and Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 8 (6 p.m. ET). Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
