HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Senior forward
Prencis Harden added her Kennesaw State Division I record 16th double-double of the season while
Keyarah Berry scored 24 as the No. 7 Owls defeated No. 10 UTEP, 71-63, to advance to the 2025 Conference USA quarterfinals inside Propst Arena Tuesday.
The Owls (13-17, 7-11 CUSA) trailed the Miners (11-19, 4-14 CUSA) 37-34 at the half but outscored the 10-seed 37-26 in the second half to earn the victory.
Berry's 24 points (tying her career-high) came on 8-for-13 shooting and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Harden (13 points and 12 rebounds) collected three steals. Her 16 double-doubles also leads Conference USA.
Graduate
Keiara Griffin posted 15 points of her own with four rebounds and three assists. Fellow graduate
Carly Hooks had six steals, tying the most by an Owl under head coach
Octavia Blue (Amani Johnson - Dec. 29, 2022 vs. Coastal Georgia). Hooks also had six assists and six points.
Blue's disciplined Owls committed just nine fouls in the CUSA first round contest. UTEP committed 33 Tuesday.
Tuesday was Kennesaw State's first Conference USA tournament game.
FIRST HALF
A steal on the defensive side set the first points of the game courtesy of Berry. With the Owls up 4-2, she drained a trey to get KSU out to a 7-2 advantage. UTEP evened the game at seven before a
Kailyn Fields trey put KSU back in front, 10-7. A 6-0 Kennesaw State run further extended the lead to 16-9. The Miners managed a few points to cut KSU's first quarter lead to 16-14 after the opening 10 minutes.
UTEP opened the second with a trey of their own but were answered by Berry who collected another three-pointer to put the Owls ahead, 19-17. The scoring back-and-forth continued as Berry eclipsed double-digit scoring, with KSU holding a 26-25 lead with six-and-a-half left. UTEP managed to get ahead 34-28 but Griffin responded with a three-pointer to cut it to 34-31 with 2:04 remaining. That trey gave Griffin 10 on the afternoon. She sank another three moments later to answer a Miner bucket, 37-34 in favor of UTEP with 0:49 on the clock. UTEP held that score going into the half.
Berry (13) and Griffin (10) left the first half scoring for KSU while Harden had six rebounds. Griffin and Hooks had three assists apiece.
SECOND HALF
Berry kept her momentum rolling and scored the first points of the third, getting KSU within one again, 37-36. UTEP got to 39 before the Owls answered to even the game at 39 with off a Harden layup. Hooks then made a free throw to give the Owls a 40-39 advantage. Harden added two free throws of her own to extend Kennesaw State to a 6-0 run, now ahead 42-39. She collected seven-straight free throws to make it a five-point Owl lead, 47-41, with under six left in the third. With three minutes left in the period, Berry made a three to give KSU its largest lead of the game to that point, 53-45. She scored one more free throw with under a minute left to set the double-double record. Kennesaw State held a 54-48 lead into the fourth.
Berry once again set the tone and opened the fourth with a layup, now at 20 points on the afternoon. A jumper from
Lee Lee Willis with six on the clock got the Black and Gold to 60, now up by eight. UTEP got within four, 62-58, before Willis quickly answered with a three in front of the KSU bench, supplying a 65-58 advantage with 3:51 left. The Miners made it a six-point game, 69-63, before a couple Berry free throws and a steal from Hooks helped seal the victory for KSU. The Owls advanced off the 71-63 victory.
GAME NOTES
- KSU made five three's in the first half. The Owls had five made three's in 10 of their 29 regular season games.
- Harden now has 27 double-doubles, the third-most in KSU DI career history.
- Harden moved into second in KSU DI single-season points (468).
- Hooks moved into 10th in KSU DI career points (888).
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
UP NEXT
Kennesaw State advances to face No. 2 Middle Tennessee Wednesday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the action on ESPN+ or via the KSU Owl Network
here or on the KSU Owls App.
Tickets are available
here.
Stay updated with the action on the court for KSU women's basketball on X @KSUOwlsWBB, Instagram at @KSUOwlsWBB and on Facebook here.
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