LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Prencis Harden added another accolade to her ledger with her 15th double-double of the season but Kennesaw State fell just short of New Mexico State, 61-57, Saturday afternoon inside the Pan American Center.

Two days after achieving 1,000 career points, Harden's double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) tied the KSU DI single-season record set by Sametria Gideon in 2012-13. The Swainsboro, Ga. native leads CUSA in the category and entered the day ninth in the nation.

A chess match of back-and-forth runs from both teams, the Owls rallied to take the lead in the final frame before the Aggies pulled away with the victory.

Harden was joined in double figures by Keyarah Berry who tallied 21 points of her own. Lee Lee Willis also posted 10 points followed by Keiara Griffin's eight. Carly Hooks paced the team with three assists.

The game concluded Kennesaw State's 2024-25 regular season road schedule.

FIRST HALF
A free throw from Harden got the scoring going for KSU in the opening minute. After a low-scoring start to the period, a pair of free throws from Griffin evened the game at seven with four minutes on the clock. A couple buckets from Berry and one from Lee Lee Willis gave Kennesaw State a 13-12 advantage after the first quarter.

Berry scored the first points of the second to get to eight on the afternoon, giving KSU a 15-12 lead. She would add another jumper before the halfway point of the second quarter, making it 19-14. Another low-scoring stanza, the two teams managed just three made field goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter - all coming from the Black and Gold. The Aggies' first FG make in the period came with 4:10 on the clock. New Mexico State then rallied back to even the game at 21 with under a minute left and led 23-21 at the break.

Berry paced the Owls with 10 points while Harden had eight rebounds and five points of her own.

SECOND HALF
Kennesaw State retook the lead, 25-23, on four free throws, two each from Berry and Griffin. The home team went on an 8-0 run before a Berry bucket put the Owls down by just three, 31-28. NMSU went on a short run before a trey from Berry got the Owls to 31. And and-one drawn by Griffin then got KSU down by just two with under two left, 38-36. The Aggies led 41-36 heading into the fourth.

Hooks sank a basket to put the Owls back within three, 41-38, to open the final quarter. A three-point play from Harden evened the game at 41 and was followed by another and-one for the senior, giving Kennesaw State a 44-42 lead. The Aggies eventually evened the game again at 46 before Harden struck again with a bucket, making it 48-46 with under seven left. A trey from Willis answered an Aggie basket to push the lead to 51-48. Three-straight free throws made it 54-48 in favor of the Black and Gold. The home team got within five, 55-50, before Willis drained another bucket to put KSU up by seven, 57-50, with just over two left. NMSU then rallied to 57-56 with 1:03 on the clock. Free throws with 0:23 left put New Mexico State up 58-57. The home team held on for the 61-57 win.

GAME NOTES

• KSU held the Aggies to nearly 12-straight minutes without a made field goal in the first half.
• If the season ended today, Harden's 10.8 rebounds per game would set the new KSU all-time single-season record.
• Harden's 414 points this season rank sixth on the Kennesaw State DI single-season leaderboard. 
• Her 15.9 scoring average this season is second in KSU DI history.
• Harden's 281 rebounds are fourth in KSU DI single-season history.

HEAD COACH OCTAVIA BLUE POSTGAME
"It was a back-and-forth game from start to finish. They would go around and we would make a run back. But at the end of the day, they have a really good player who's able to make a huge shot in the money time and they were able to hold us off. I thought that we did a poor job of keeping our composure. We had an opportunity to score and the technical foul took away that opportunity. It's just a tale of events that we have to learn and grow from," - overall thoughts on Saturday's game.

"We were picking our spots and noticed mismatches on the floor. We were trying to get the ball and be aggressive where we could score towards the basket and get to the foul line. We were in the bonus pretty early in the fourth which was advantageous for us, but then we started fouling on the other end. Hats off to Molly Kaiser, a huge big-time player and she made some plays late in the game which got them the win," - on KSU's control of the paint Saturday. The Owls held NMSU to just one offensive rebound and outscored them 30-18 in the paint.

"We have to protect our home court in front of our fans. We have three more opportunities on the season to do just that," - on the Owls' final three home games to close out the 2024-25 regular season.

UP NEXT
The Owls return home Thursday, Feb. 27 for Pink Day against FIU. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the KSU Convocation Center.

Fans can purchase tickets here. Kennesaw State students can get in free to all 2024-25 home KSU women's basketball games. Read Full Article