The Kennesaw State women’s basketball team took on two quality foes this week and played well at times in both. However, the team dropped both games due to second-half inconsistencies.
The first loss came at Georgia Tech on Wednesday and the Lady Owls fell 77-49 despite 13 points and seven rebounds from Britteny Henderson. The difference in the game came early in the second half when Tech blew open a 31-30 game at the 17:05 mark by embarking on 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead with 15:45 remaining. From there, KSU could get no closer than 11.
“We came out (in the second half) and cut it to one,” explained Owl head coach Colby Tilley. “And then we just really got tired. Their strength and their quickness just made us tired and wore us down. They played as hard as they could.”
The game featured aggressive defense from both sides, resulting in several turnovers and fouls. The two teams combined for 68 turnovers and 43 fouls.
“The biggest complaint I have is the turnovers,” declared Tilley. “We turned it over 39 times. Tech only took 51 shots and we turned it over 39 times. If we had cut our turnovers in half it might have been a closer game.”
One bright spot for the Lady Owls was freshman guard Angie Smith’s 30-foot jumper right before the end of the first half that cut Tech’s lead to 31-26.
“I’d like to say that’s how we drew it up, but it wasn’t,” said Tilley. “It kind of got the momentum for us to start the second half.”
Tech improved its record to 2-1 while the Lady Owls dropped to 0-3.
The Lady Owls then returned home to prepare for a College of Charleston squad that beat them last year in Charleston.
Despite Greteya Kelley’s 23 points and Jennifer Baker’s 19, the black-and-gold fell at the Convocation Center by a score of 86-79.
KSU missed several opportunities late in the game to get back in it, but the shots just did not fall. The Lady Cougars were able to corral more loose balls and out-hustled the Lady Owls all game.
“College of Charleston just outplayed us,” said a frustrated Tilley. “They just flat-out got after it a lot harder than we did. I told the players after the game that until we start working harder the results are going to be the same. College of Charleston got every loose ball. They got all the offensive rebounds and they penetrated. Until we make those corrections it’s going to be more of the same, I’m afraid.”
KSU played well early, then lost the lead and could not regain it. After taking a 9-2 lead to start the game, the Lady Owls extended their lead to nine with a 16-7 lead at 13:54 in the first half.
From there College of Charleston took over, outscoring KSU 33-15 to close the half.
The Lady Owls were able to claw their way back into the game after falling behind 75-63 with 6:51 left in the game. The team trailed by just four with 29 seconds left after a free throw by Kelley. From there, the Lady Cougars were able to close it out on free throws by Jade Hughes and Tonia Gerty.
KSU will travel to Troy on Dec. 3 to look for their first win of the season. Last year, the Lady Trojans nipped KSU with a lay-in at the buzzer 58-57.
“They beat us at the buzzer, so we’re hoping we can go back down there and do the same to them,” said Tilley.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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