by Daniel Miller
Playing in close games is nothing new for the Owls, and the script continued Thursday night as they lost a hard fought 74-68 battle with East Tennessee State at the MSHA/ETSU Athletics Center.
Once again, KSU (4-14, 2-5) was led by junior guard Kristina Wells who posted a game high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. With her performance, Wells is now 5th in the conference in scoring per game with 15.9, 4th in the conference in rebounding per game with 9.0, and she ranks in the top 6 in both steals and assists in the conference.
“Kristina Wells once against was a ‘steady-Eddie’ and consistent,” said Head Coach Nitra Perry. KSU came out running from the start as they grabbed an early 5-0 lead ignited by a three point basket by freshman guard Deandrea Sawyers. The Bucs evened the score, and throughout the first half KSU was never able to pull away. The Owls had their biggest lead of the half at seven with 14:09 remaining which was highlighted by Wells who scored five points
East Tennessee State (6-11, 2-4) responded and went on their own 14-2 run in the next six minutes, and with less than eight minutes remaining in the first half; the Bucs were on top 23-18. With every Bucs run, the Owls seemed poised to match, and out of a time out, they ran off the next seven in a row for a 25-23 lead.
From there, both teams continued to trade baskets as there were three ties and three lead changes until late in the half with the score all even at 30, KSU shutdown East Tennessee State by going on a 7-0 run in the final 3:40 and was on top 37-30 at the half with the Owls shooting 50 percent from the field compared to the Bucs 39 percent.
Coming out the locker room, the Owls started the half in similar fashion to the first and with 17:43 remaining, KSU built their largest lead of the game at eight points. The Bucs showed no mercy, and battled back to take a 42-41 lead as Bucs freshman guard Shamauria Bridges, who led the Bucs with 19 points, drained a three with 14:00 minutes to go.
The two teams continued to trade baskets, and within a five minute span, the lead changed four times. Unlike the first half, KSU in the second half shot 32 percent from the field. The Bucs shot 46 percent. That proved to be the difference maker as the Bucs were able to grab the lead over the final nine minutes, and increase their advantage to a game-high nine points with 2:29 left to play.
Wells almost single handedly kept KSU in the game as she was able to keep the Owls within striking distance and with the score at 54-53, East Tennessee State went on a third 7-0 scoring run to seize control of the game.
“In conference play something that we have been emphasizing to our girls is playing for forty minutes. We had some times defensively where we did not get stops and that is what it came down to.” “The rebounding the timeliness of their offensive boards really broke our back.”
Along with Bridges, East Tennessee State sophomore guards Brianna McQueen and Chandler Christopher each had big nights. McQueen chipped in 13 points and 5 rebounds, while Christopher posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Along with Wells, Sawyers and Junior guard Bria Young added 11 points, while Freshman forward Aareon Smith chipped in with 9. “I was proud of the effort we played with for about 30 to 35 minutes,” said Perry. The Owls dominated the boards with a 41-29 advantage. The score was tied 8 times, and the lead changed 9 times.
The Owls finished the game shooting at a 40 percent clip and made 79 percent (15-of-19) of its free throws. KSU had their way with East Tennessee State on the boards with a 41-29 total rebound advantage, which included 14 offensive rebounds. Unfortunately for the Owls, they only came away with 13 points and committed 19 turnovers ended up being the difference.
The Owls next game will be on Saturday Jan 25 against USC Upstate as they are in the midst of a three-game road trip.