First-year women’s basketball head coach Nitra Perry’s offical debut on Friday night didn’t provide for much of a ribbon- cutting, groundbreaking ceremony, as the Owls were handled, from the opening tip to the final whistle, a humbling 87-45 loss to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in the WNIT opener in Murfreesboro, TN.
Sophmore guard Bria Young and Colorado State transfer Chantel Kennedy had nice games with 15 and 14 point games, respectively, but the Owls were dominated in the paint by the Blue Raiders, which outrebounded KSU by a staggering differential of 45-27.
“Bria did a good job shooting for us tonight,” Perry said. “But what I’m trying to demand from our players right now is that they give on both offense and defense. Right now I’m impressed with the shooters but we need to get more physical on defense and show a little more effort.”
Young, in her second year from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, earned all of her points from three-point range, knocking down 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Kennedy finished 7-of-14 shooting and dished five assists, but also contributed to the Blue Raiders offense with six turnovers. KSU lost the turnover battle with 38 to MTSU’s 16.
MTSU never trailed in the contest, and used a 12-0 run after a 4-4 tie to jumpstart the blowout early. The Blue Raiders took a 38-24 lead into halftime.
That lead was extended to 28 in the second-half as the Raiders added 14 more to the advantage in the first five minutes of the second period.
“I think we could have done a lot more fundamentally,” Perry said. “It’s stuff we work on every day, but we need to do a little more of it. They pressured us all game but we kept our composure and turned it into layups on the other end. We just missed a few and that’s something we can’t have.”
KSU’s senior forward Sametria Gideon was unusually quiet, finishing 2-of- 2 from the floor in 31 minutes for a total of seven points, six rebounds, and four turnovers.
MTSU saw impressive performances from its starting five, including a double- double from forward Ebony Rowe, who finished with 23 points from 8-of-14 from the floor, 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Guard Kortni Jones registered 21 points on 8-of- 16 shooting, 5-of-12 from long range, four assists and four steals.
KSU’s opening loss came in the wake of a tough, 79-75, overtime win in an exhibition against Southern Polytechnic State (NAIA) last Friday.
The Owls will continue play tonight at the newly renovated McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m.
KSU will continue the Women’s Preseason National Invitational Tournament on Saturday against Morehead State in Morehead, KY.
KSU will hold its home opener in the Convocation Center against Troy on Wednesday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m.