The Owls cruised on Saturday, taking their third conference win over the Miners
Women’s basketball defeated UTEP 84-70, thanks to a pair of double-doubles from Keyarah Berry and Prencis Harden on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Coming off a 68-66 thriller on Thursday night against New Mexico State, the Owls were looking to pick up a second straight conference win.
To begin the game, the teams traded baskets for the first few possessions before Kennesaw State went on a 13 point run to secure a 19-8 lead. UTEP quickly answered with a small run of their own to draw within 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Owls kept their good luck going at the beginning of the second quarter, extending their lead to 28-15 with about seven minutes to go in the second. UTEP quickly closed this deficit, however, going on a nine point run to cut the Owls lead to just 35-32 at the half.
The Owls began the second half the same way they ended the first, and UTEP took a 40-38 lead with about eight minutes to go in the third quarter. This was UTEP’s first time in the lead since seven minutes to go in the first.
After this setback, KSU made quick adjustments and was able to get the lead back in their favor, leading by a score of 56-50 at the end of the third.
The Owls continued to increase their lead at the start of the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run in just a little over a minute, forcing the Miners to burn a quick timeout and giving the Owls a 63-50 advantage. After the timeout, the Miners answered with two quick threes, cutting the lead back to just seven.
The Owls quickly responded and stretched their lead to 17 points with just four minutes remaining. Despite a few baskets made by the Miners, KSU matched them step for step and the game ended with a final score of 84-70 in favor of the Owls.
The Owls were led by a spectacular performance by guard Berry, scoring 20 points and securing 10 rebounds.
“What I like about Keyarah Berry is that she just plays with a ton of energy and her offense comes because of it,” coach Octavia Blue said “She has really just turned her game up another notch and it makes us a better ball club.”
Despite her individual performance, Berry gave all credit to her teammates.
“I’m feeling really good, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates,” she said.
Harden continued her excellent season, finishing the game with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Defensive effort was also a key factor in securing the victory, with the defense grabbing eight steals.
“That’s who we are,” Blue said. “When you’re playing defense, you can always generate offense. We want to make teams uncomfortable when they come here to the Convo at Kennesaw State, and we’re going to continue to do that throughout the rest of the season.”
This victory was the third out of the last four games in conference play for the Owls, and they are hoping their success continues when they face Liberty on the road on Thursday.
