HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Kennesaw State's inaugural season as a member of Conference USA came to a close as the No. 7-seeded Owls fell to reigning league champion, No. 2 Middle Tennessee, 73-46 in the conference quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon inside Propst Arena.
KSU (13-18, 7-11 CUSA) fought a resilient second half, outscoring the Blue Raiders (25-7, 16-2 CUSA) 38-32 but an efficient first half from MTSU made the difference in the contest.
Graduate
Keiara Griffin led the Owls with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. She was joined in double figures by
Prencis Harden who had 10 points of her own with five rebounds and four steals.
Carly Hooks and
Lee Lee Willis led the team with five assists Wednesday.
Keyarah Berry, Hooks and Willis matched Harden with five rebounds each.
In the Owls first season as a member of CUSA, head coach
Octavia Blue's squad tallied victories over Georgia State, Chattanooga, Louisiana Tech and defeated No. 10 UTEP 71-63 in the first round of the conference tournament Tuesday.
Harden earned 2025 All-Conference USA honors with a league-high and KSU DI record-setting 16 double-doubles while leading the conference in scoring. She led KSU in 13 different categories to solidify one of the best statistical seasons in KSU women's basketball history. Wednesday was her 50th double-digit scoring game as a Kennesaw State Owl.
She joined Griffin, Hooks, Berry,
Taylor Cullinan and
Morgan Dillard as part of the 2024-24 senior class.
FIRST HALF
After a scoreless first couple minutes, MT collected the game's opening points on a trey.
Kailyn Fields answered two possessions later for KSU's first points. The Blue Raiders went on a run to take a 17-6 lead before a Hooks jumper ended the offense. MTSU led 41-8 at the end of the first half.
SECOND HALF
Harden scored the first points of the second half but it was four-straight three's courtesy of Griffin and Willis that cut into MTSU's lead. Griffin made another trey towards the end of the third. KSU evened MTSU with 20 apiece in the third.
Harden opened the fourth with a score, giving her eight points on the day. Willis sank a trey to break up a MT scoring run, her second of the game. The next Owl bucket came from Harden, who reached 10 points with the score. Kennesaw State then rattled off 11-straight points courtesy of
Keyarah Berry and three's from
Taylor Cullinan,
Claire Davis and
Morgan Dillard. The Owls outscored the Blue Raiders 18-12 in the fourth but the reigning CUSA champs secured the 73-46 win.
GAME NOTES
- Kennesaw State's 10 made three's were the most in a game this season.
- KSU outscored MTSU 16-3 in total bench points Wednesday.
- KSU also outscored the Blue Raiders in fastbreak points, 11-4.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
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