The KSU women’s basketball team defeated Atlantic Sun Conference foe Jacksonville 57-51 in the KSU Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea Mason and Sametria Gideon played strong for the Owls. Mason had her second double-double of her young career, as the freshman stand- out had a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Gideon was one rebound shy of a double- double of her own, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine boards.
“We left it all out on the court today,” said KSU head coach Nitra Perry. “It was just 40 minutes of total basketball. It wasn’t a game with no mistakes, but we bounced back from those better than we have in any other game this season. Sametria came out and set the tone the right way for us. She wanted the ball, played terrific defense and was talking out on the court. Then Mason scored the ball really well for us and had an outstanding day.”
The Owls played a fantastic final five minute stretch to end the game, extending their 2-point lead to six in the final minute. Ashley Holliday and Chantel Kennedy each scored a free throw to end the game at 57-51.
The Owls have fallen short this season after many comeback attempts, but this time KSU was able to fight back from an 11-point deficit early on and hang on for the win.
“We’ve been working really hard in practice,” said Gideon of the effort. “Coach has been on us and she’s such a competitor and we came out before this game and said ‘we’re just not going to lose this game tonight.’ I just wanted my team to win and we came out and did what we had to do.”
The team dominated Jacksonville in every category of the game. Holliday had a career-high eight assists to aid the Owls in their season- high 15 assists as a team. The team grabbed 39 rebounds, nine better than the Dolphins. Mason’s 10 led both teams. The Owls dominated in the paint and were able to turn 16 Dolphin turnovers into 21 points.
With the win, the Owls improve to 6-17 on the year and 2-9 in Atlantic Sun play. KSU will hit the hardwood again on Monday, when they take on North Florida at home in the Convocation Center.
