Women’s basketball huddles around coach Octavia Blue in a game during the 2025-26 season at VyStar Arena. Photo by Jackson Louneoubonh
Women’s basketball saw its season come to an end in Huntsville on Tuesday in a 66-47 loss to No. 8-seed Delaware n the first round of the Conference USA Championship tournament.
The game started fairly even as both sides played tight defense in an opening period in which the Blue Hens held a 10-9 lead.
The Owls remained competitive in the second quarter and Delaware held a slim 26-23 lead at the half in what appeared to be shaping up to be a tight game between two evenly matched conference opponents.
The tone of the game changed drastically when the Blue Hens exploded for 22 points in the third quarter and held Kennesaw State to only four points, stretching the Delaware lead to 48-27 heading into the final frame.
The deficit was too much for the Owls to overcome and despite winning the fourth quarter 20-18, they failed to draw back within striking distance.
Leading the way for KSU was freshman Tatianna Stovall with 17 points, just three short of tying her career-high set this past December.
Shania Nicholswas the only other Owl in double figures on Tuesday, putting up 10 points to finish the season averaging 9.2 points per game, her first with KSU after transferring from IU Indianapolis.
The Owls finished the year at 13-17 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
The beginning of this season for KSU allowed fans a chance to see how the team would respond to pressure in tight games, facing three straight one-point games in conference play and winning two of them, against ETSU and Tennessee Tech, respectively.
Following a tough road loss to South Alabama, the Owls beat USC Upstate 55-41 at home and took care of business in December, only losing to high-major opponents Alabama and Miami.
The struggles for KSU began in conference play, losing four of its first five games against Conference USA opponents, defeating only Western Kentucky, who finished in last place. This stretch also included a blowout 74-47 home loss to Jacksonville State.
The Owls appeared to be getting back on track at the end of January, dominating UTEP and New Mexico State by double-digit margins at home.
The optimism of this streak was snapped immediately by a three-game losing streak, including road losses to Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston, as well as a devastating 65-60 loss in overtime at home against Delaware.
After stringing together a couple of wins in February, KSU lost four straight and continued to fall in the conference standings.
Director of Athletics Milton Overton announced on Wednesday morning that head coach Octavia Blue has “concluded her tenure with the Owls.”
In five seasons as head coach at KSU, Blue finished with an overall record of 61-89 and 35-51 in conference play. The Owls never finished higher than seventh in the conference standings during her tenure.
