By: Joseph Hovey
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball fell 65-60 to Delaware after a tightly-contested overtime game on Thursday night at VyStar Arena.
KSU led 58-56 before UD hit two overtime-forcing free throws with one second remaining in regulation. Both teams combined for two field goals in the extra period, but UD pulled away with five late free throws. KSU had a chance to send the game to double overtime with 24 seconds to play, but came up empty with a missed 3-pointer.
The Owls and Fightin' Blue Hens battled through one of the closest women's basketball games in Conference USA history. Since NCAA women's basketball moved to four-quarter games in the 2015-16 season, Thursday's KSU-UD game was the first involving a CUSA team in which the game was tied at half, the end of the third quarter and end of regulation.
In all, the game totaled 18 ties, nine lead changes and 10 minutes of tied game time. Neither team led by more than five at any point.
First Half
Both teams started hot from the field with a combined 8-of-9 over the game's first three minutes.
Trynce Taylor canned two quick jumpers for KSU, and
Kailyn Fields added two treys for a 14-9 first-quarter lead. UD closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, but the Owls fought their way into a back-and-forth second quarter.
KSU took a 28-23 lead midway through the second with stingy defense and opportunistic offense. The Owls held the Blue Hens scoreless over a four-minute stretch with six forced turnovers.
Latazia Williamson contributed a pair of buckets while a
Shania Nichols' steal turned into a Fields' transition score. Delaware responded late in the half to square the game 30-30 at the break.
KSU went to half outshooting UD 48-38%, though the Blue Hens kept things tight with a 16-6 advantage in 3-point and free-throw scoring. The Owls controlled the paint with a 24-12 scoring advantage and 20-14 on the glass. UD evened the game with 10 points on 12 KSU turnovers.
Second Half
Williamson and Fields led the way for the Owls in a tight third quarter, with each pitching in six points. Neither team could hold a lead of more than three in the third, with a Fields' triple giving KSU the period's high-lead at 45-42.
The Owls and Blue Hens embarked on a defensive slugfest of a fourth quarter knotted at 47.
Keyarah Berry scored a layup and Taylor a free throw to give KSU a quick 50-47 lead before the Owls endured a stretch of over nine minutes without a field goal.
Despite the drought from the field, KSU battled its way to the free-throw line with 12 drawn fouls, including a key offensive foul drawn by Fields with 27.4 seconds remaining.
The Owls held a 58-56 lead in the game's waning seconds before UD found its way to the free-throw line and drained both shots with one second remaining.
Williamson scored KSU's only points of overtime with an early layup. The Owls held the Blue Hens to 1-of-6 from the field in the extra period, but UD held on for the win with five overtime points on foul shots. KSU had a chance to send the game to double overtime with 24 seconds to play, but came up empty with a missed 3-pointer.
Game Notes
- Kailyn Fields and Latazia Williamson led the Owls with 19 points apiece. Fields went 6-of-15 from the floor with four triples and four steals. Williamson's 19 came on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with nine rebounds.
- Trynce Taylor added 14 points on 5-of-11 from the field with four assists.
- KSU outshot UD 40-32% from the field. The Blue Hens went 6-of-23 from three to the Owls' 4-of-18.
- Free throw shooting proved pivotal with UD going 17-of-24 and KSU 10-of-22.
- The Owls outrebounded the Blue Hens 41-40, but UD countered with 20 points on 22 KSU turnovers. The Owls registered nine points on 18 Blue Hen turnovers.
- Thursday's game marked KSU's first overtime game of the season and first since defeating Sam Houston 85-73 on January 16, 2025.
Head Coach Octavia Blue Postgame
"This was a hard-fought overtime game here at home. Delaware is a very resilient, tough team. They came in here and forced overtime. However, I thought that we had an opportunity to seal the game with foul shots at the end of the game. We were 10-of-22. That's a lot of free throws to miss. We also had 22 turnovers on our home court. Ultimately, that was the difference in the ball game."
On the challenges Delaware presented
"We were prepared for everything. We knew they had a dominant post [Ande'a Cherisier] on the inside that commanded our attention. We started off with single coverage, and she was hurting us pretty bad, but we made the adjustment in the second half by doubling her a little bit. We took her out for a little bit. We were able to get her in foul trouble. I thought Latazia [Williamson] was really aggressive in the low post, drawing fouls on her. [Cherisier] is a big factor, and they have shooters around her. Really tough team to cover. We needed to be mentally alert and understand how to close out on her on the flight of the ball, then scramble out to their shooters. I thought we missed a couple of opportunities to trap her, and she punished us for it."
On Latazia Williamson's performance
"I think Latazia has really turned it on here in conference play. She's dominant. She plays really hard. That's not only in the game. She comes to practice, and she brings it. When you have that consistency night in and night out, you are going to perform at a high level during the game."
On Kailyn Fields' performance
"She hit a couple of shots early, a lot from feeding it on the inside to Latazia and her kicking it back out, and from hunting her shot within transition."
Next Time Out
KSU retakes the court on Feb. 7 at 2 pm for the Pink Game matchup with Liberty. Owl Nation is inviting fans to join us in the fight against cancer. We are louder, stronger, and unstoppable together. The Owls-Lady Flames showdown will also be available live on
ESPN+.
The Owls Fund
The Owls Fund is the primary fundraising arm of Kennesaw State Athletics with the goal of supporting our student-athletes, coaches and each of our 18 NCAA Division I programs. Through initiatives such as Legacy Lockers, the Dot Martin Scholarship Golf Classic, sport-specific giving opportunities, general donations and season tickets, The Owls Fund connects fans with KSU's programs and student-athletes. Members receive exclusive benefits such as hospitality seating areas and events at Kennesaw State home games, and more. Join The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.
