The Owls (3-6) fell short to the Bruins (7-3) on Dec. 17, 2023.
The Owls fell 64-54 inside the KSU Convocation Center, despite an outstanding performance from Prencis Harden.
Harden finished with a strong 17 points and one rebound short of tying her career-high. She recorded her 11th double-digit scoring game of her career at KSU. Following Harden with an outstanding performance was junior Morgan Dillard.
Dillard shined on Sunday afternoon on the home court recording 10 points and four rebounds of her own.
38 of KSU’s 54 points were found inside the paint. This is KSU’s 11th consecutive opponent with a current standing record of .500 or better dating back to last season.
Coming out strong, KSU held the first quarter tight against the Bruins. Towards the end of the period, the Owls trailed 15-14 with nine lead changes.
Senior Carly Hooks led the Owls on a fiery and tight start on the court throughout the first 10 minutes. Hooks recorded eight points and two rebounds in the first quarter.
The Bruins allowed more points than previous opponents as the Owls ended the first quarter with 14 points. The Bruins allowed 12 points to Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 3 and against Georgia on Nov. 10 they allowed six.
Hooks recorded her second assist of the game in the second quarter, moving her into the ninth spot in Kennesaw State Women’s Basketball History Division 1 career list with 162 assists.
The Bruins began to pull away in the second, taking a 35-23 lead heading into halftime at the Convocation Center.
The Owls came out fast starting the second half led by Kailyn Fields and Harden. The Owls cut the lead to six in the first three minutes. Harden added seven points to her outstanding performance Sunday total while freshman Trynce Taylor added six points to the box score.
The electrified Owls’ offense began to keep pace with the Bruins for the rest of the third quarter as they entered the fourth trailing 51-42. The Owls scored 19 points in the third which is the fourth most the Bruins had allowed in the third quarter this season.
The Owls cut it as close as only two points separated the teams in the fourth, however, it was just enough for the Belmont Bruins to secure a victory 65-54 over the Owls in the Convocation Center.
The Owls played San Diego State University on Dec. 20 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
