The Kennesaw State men’s and women’s basketball teams endured a difficult week, as the men fell at Lipscomb on Monday, Jan. 21, before both teams lost at North Alabama later in the week.
During the stretch of difficult road games, the highlight of the week was Tyler Hooker‘s career-best performance of 33 points.
An 86-57 loss began last week for the men’s team, as the Owls traveled to Nashville to play the Bisons on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Hooker led the way with 18 points, as he continued to play a crucial role for the team throughout the game.
The Owls kept it close in the first half, trailing by eight points at halftime. Hooker had scored 12 of his points by the midway point, but he was the only player who found shooting success early on as the Owls relied on the free-throw line to stay close.
Junior Bobby Parker scored nine points in the second half, but the bench could not keep KSU in the game as Lipscomb’s lead steadily increased.
Hooker’s best game of the season came two days later, but despite his efforts, the Owls still lost 76-71 to North Alabama on Friday.
The redshirt junior extended his run of double-digit performances to 20 consecutive games and led the way for his team in every way possible, but only nine bench points thwarted the completion of a comeback victory for the Owls.
Down by 15 points at halftime, KSU rallied in the second half as Parker and redshirt freshman Danny Lewis helped the Owls start scoring consistently. The final margin of five points would be the closest KSU would get, as they fell to a 3-18 record on the season.
For the women’s team, freshman Amani Johnson and sophomore Alexis Poole led the way with 14 points each against North Alabama in an 80-55 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Both players found success rebounding as well as scoring, but the rest of the team’s scoring struggles prevented a collective effort to combat North Alabama’s efficient shooting percentage.
The first half saw a positive performance from junior Carlotta Gianolla, who contributed eight points in just 12 minutes. After halftime, she played only two minutes and did not pick up any more points.
Usual scoring leader Kamiyah Street scored just eight points for the entire game, uncharacteristically making less than a quarter of her shots.
Johnson’s performance, particularly in the second half, was an improvement from a tough game a week earlier. The five-time conference freshman of the week has now scored a double-digit total in 11 games this season.
Up next, the basketball teams come home this week, as the women’s team faces North Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 11 a.m. while the men also play the Osprey on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
