Kurtis Woods led all scorers with 16 points and the men’s basketball team dominated North Greenville in the season-opening home exhibition last Thursday by a score of 90-40. KSU led 48-20 at halftime and cruised to the victory on the strength of a suffocating defense that caused 32 North Greenville turnovers. John-Michael Nickerson, Johnathan Whipple and John Allison all scored in double digits with 14, 12, and 10 points, respectively. The Owls will host Western Illinois in the season opener on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
The women’s basketball team defeated Emmanuel College on Nov. 4 at the Convocation Center in the team’s home exhibition. Junior guard Gia Lockett scored a game-high 22 points and the Lady Owls caused 36 Lady Lion turnovers in the win. KSU outscored Emmanuel 51-28 in the second half en route to an 84-58 victory. The Lady Owls will open the regular season on the road, facing Richmond on Friday night, UNC on Monday night and local rival Georgia Tech on Nov. 19.
SOCCER FALLS
The No. 2-seeded soccer team fell to the Belmont Bruins in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament last Thursday in a 4-2 shootout. KSU received a bye through the first round of the tournament in which third-seeded Belmont defeated sixth-seeded Stetson 2-0. The Lady Owls earned the second seed with an 11-4-5 overall record and a 6-2-2 conference record. Rachel Baer, Kristin Kranick and Yasha Blount all scored in regulation for the Lady Owls, who entered overtime in a 3-3 tie. Blount’s strike in the 89th minute knotted the game and eventually sent it to extra time. Baer and Carolina Austin each made their shots in the shootout while Brittany Vining and Sarah Marek missed their attempts.
SERVING UP
The volleyball team lost three matches in the past week, dropping its record to 6-21 overall and 5-12 in the A-Sun. On Nov. 4, KSU lost at Presbyterian 3-1 in the final non-conference match of the season. The Blue Hose won the first two sets before clinching the match in the fourth set. Sabrita Gulley had a double-double in the match with 12 digs and 11 kills. On Friday night, the Lady Owls took on conference rival Jacksonville (17-8, 12-5) at the Convocation Center. The Dolphins won the match 3-0 despite a game effort from sophomore Paris Leonce, who led both teams with 18 digs. Gulley led all players with 12 kills and Selina O’Leary had 11 digs. … The Lady Owls then honored senior Tara Dillon on Senior Night against North Florida on Saturday. However, the Ospreys (11-14, 9-9) stole the show, defeating Dillon and her teammates by a score of 3-1. Chelsey Denesha led KSU with 12 digs while Gulley and Asjia Stokes contributed 10 each. The Lady Owls will end their regular season this weekend against Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.