KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State women's basketball survived a second-half charge from visiting Georgia Southern to hold off the Eagles in a 72-71 non-conference victory on Friday evening in Kennesaw.
With the win, the Owls (4-6) improve to 7-1 all-time against the Eagles (8-3), including a perfect 4-0 in Kennesaw.
The Owls led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but the Eagles outscored Kennesaw State, 26-20, in the third period to cut the lead to six, 63-57. Georgia Southern opened the fourth quarter forcing four straight turnovers and getting a three-pointer by Rachel Johnson to make it a three-point game. But at the media time out, officials reviewed the Johnson shot and changed it to a two-pointer, then KSU's Prencis Harden stole the inbounds pass and made a layup on two straight possessions to push the Owl lead back out to eight, 67-59.
A quick 5-0 run brought the game back to single digits, 67-64, with five minutes left. KSU pushed the lead to five, 71-66, on an Alexis Poole layup with 4:07 remaining, then neither team could score a point over the next two minutes. Mya Burns broke the drought with a three-pointer to make it 71-69 with 2:05 left. A single free throw from Bre'Lyn Snipes with 1:34 left made it a three-point game.
With the shot clock turned off, Mya Burns was fouled on a three-point attempt with 5.9 seconds left. Burns made two of three, then the Eagles forced a five-second call on the inbounds to get the ball back. Ja'nya Love-Hill was fouled with 2.6 seconds left, but could not make a free throw, and KSU secured the rebound to clinch the game.
Burns was the only Eagle in double figures on the night, collecting 31 points. Three Owls reached double figures, led by Amani Johnson's 16 points. Jah'Che Whitfield had 11 points and Snipes chipped in 10.
Eagle of the Game
Burns set her career high in points for the second time in the last six days with her 31 points, hitting 10-of-17 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. She is the first Eagle to register a 30+ point game since Tatum Barber had 31 vs. Coastal Carolina on February 20, 2020.
Stat of the Game
Although the turnover margin was virtually even between the two teams (24 for GS, 25 for KSU), the Owls enjoyed a 25-14 edge in points off of turnovers.
Quotables • HEAR FULL POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM COACH HOWARD
Head Coach Anita Howard on the second-half charge, nearly overcoming the 17-point second-half deficit
"I am proud of our fight down the stretch. I'm not proud that we got ourselves into that hole, but I was glad to see that we didn't give up. Hats off to Kennesaw, they've got a new coach and they're playing well right now. I'm not pleased with our defensive effort, I think we fouled too much and the turnover bug came back and bit us again."
Next Up
The Eagles wrap up their non-conference schedule, returning to Hanner to host Bethune-Cookman on Sunday at 3 p.m.
