Five players reached a double-digit points total as the Kennesaw State women’s basketball team earned their fifth win of the season in a 75-55 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
In defeating the Dolphins, KSU won their first Atlantic Sun Conference game this season and moved to a 4-0 record at home.
Sophomore Kamiyah Street led the way with 18 points while fellow second-year player Alexis Poole contributed 13 points and 7 rebounds.
The third quarter proved to be the deciding factor in the game as the Owls extended a two-point lead at halftime to 12 by the end of the quarter. Street pressured the Dolphins on both ends of the court, forcing turnovers and scoring 15 points in the second half.
Helping extend the lead for KSU was the defense that forced 28 turnovers during the game — the highest number against any of the Owls’ Division I opponents this season.
Jacksonville initially jumped out to a quick 16-10 lead midway through the first quarter, playing a full court press and not allowing any perimeter shots from the Owls. With four minutes left in the quarter, freshman Amani Johnson found junior Carlotta Gianolla to spark some momentum for KSU.
Johnson continued to sustain the tradition of productive freshmen players for the Owls, collecting 11 points and eight assists. Street and Gianolla have won the ASUN Freshman of the Year award for the past two seasons.
With just a minute left in the quarter, sophomore Breanna Hoover netted her first shot of the game to cut the lead to one point as the Owls closed the quarter out not missing a single three-point attempt.
Down by two points, Johnson sank a three-point shot to give the Owls their first lead of the game, and she pushed the lead to five points after making a mid-range jump shot among a cluster of Dolphins. The Owls scored efficiently from the field the whole quarter, helping them take the lead.
Hoover drained her second three-pointer of the game to make it a 35-33 KSU lead at the break. Johnson totaled nine points and five assists in the first half.
The Owls continued to extend their lead into the final quarter, forcing multiple timeouts from Jacksonville as Street finished the game with six steals.
KSU sustained pressure and found themselves up by 21 points with three minutes to play. With the game in hand, the remainder of the bench players came into the game with just over a minute left as the Owls secured a 75-55 win.
Gianolla and Hoover finished in double figures while senior Iceis Walker made her first start of the season.
For the women’s team, it was their first victory against the Dolphins since Feb. 9, 2013.
The Owls have a week off before returning to play against Liberty on Tuesday, Jan. 15, inside the KSU Convocation Center.
