BOCA RATON, Fla. — Kennesaw State women's basketball sustained its first loss of the season in a 68-28 defeat to Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
"Obviously this is not the outcome we wanted, but I am proud of our effort," said KSU head coach
Tianni Kelly. "I thought we played hard and competed for 40 minutes. We have to do a better job in our transition defense and taking care of the ball but ultimately we have to shoot the ball better and do a better job of getting extra possessions. There were plenty of opportunities for offensive rebounds and we didn't take advantage of that."
FAU opened the game on a 7-0 run and remained hot the rest of the day, with 10 of 24 field goals coming from beyond the arc. KSU shot 11-of-58 from the field and 4-of-20 from 3-point range. FAU also took 13 trips to the free-throw line with 10 makes, while KSU was held to just 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
A 53-31 rebounding disparity and 18 FAU points on 16 KSU turnovers further hampered the visiting Owls on Saturday.
Shania Nichols battled from start to finish on the way to her first career double-double. Nichols tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds in her 23
rd career double-figure scoring game and 13
th at KSU.
Kaelyn Flowers added nine points, two rebounds and two assists.
First Half
KSU came out of the gates with cold shooting and fell behind 13-2 in the first quarter. Flowers and Nichols took the lid off the basket for KSU in the second.
Flowers opened the quarter with two consecutive driving lay-ins. Nichols nailed a pair of triples late in the half to cut the deficit to 29-12 before the break.
FAU shot 10-of-28 in the first half to KSU's 4-of-33. Advantages of 29-18 in rebounds and 12-4 in paint scoring also contributed to FAU's halftime lead.
Second Half
Scores from
Tracey Bershers and Flowers pulled KSU within 14 to open the second half. FAU then responded with a game-breaking 16-2 run over a three-and-a-half-minute span.
Despite the steep deficit, Nichols showed no quit down the stretch, scoring four points and recording five of her 10 boards in the second half while also drawing a charge on the defensive end.
KSU fought to the finish, but FAU's seven second-half 3-pointers put the game out of reach.
Next Time Out
KSU makes a quick trip to Athens, Georgia, on Nov. 11 to take on the Lady Bulldogs. Tune in to the game on
SEC Network+ or
listen to live play-by-play here.
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