Feb. 21, 2009

Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. - On Senior Day for the Kennesaw State women's basketball team, it was a pair of juniors that did some of the heavy lifting as Gia Lockett scored 18 while Montinique Nixon added 17 points and nine rebounds to give the Lady Owls an 88-78 win in their home finale over Lipscomb.

"We really wanted to come out and get a win for our seniors today," Lockett said after the game. "It's always tough losing on Senior Day and we wanted to make sure that didn't happen."

Lockett was especially big in the second half, scoring 14 of her 18 points thanks in large part to 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Nixon played a big role in the offense in the second half, scoring 11 in the final 20 minutes.

Lipscomb (5-22, 3-15 A-Sun) overcame a 37-30 halftime deficit to take a 47-43 lead. With 12 minutes left and Lipscomb gaining confidence, Lockett connected on her first three-pointer of the game to pull KSU (15-12, 11-7) within one.

"When you make your first couple of shots, it gives you confidence," said Lockett. "Three-pointers change the momentum of the game, and once we got the momentum back, we never lost it."

The Lady Owls were pushed into the lead after senior Britteny Henderson made a pair of free-throws after a technical foul was charged to Lipscomb head coach Frank Bennett. Fifteen seconds later, Lockett nailed her second shot from beyond the arc to give the Lady Owls a 51-47 lead and cap an 8-0 run.

Lipscomb hung around, trimming the margin to as close as two in the second half. but with just over four minutes and 30 seconds to go, junior Greteya Kelley took over. The Atlantic Sun Conference's reigning Defensive Player of the Year stole the ball, then drained a three-pointer to give the Owls a five-point lead, 69-64. Lipscomb scored on a pair of free-throws and after a stop on the other end, the Lady Bisons were poised to tie the game. Kelley came up with a clean steal and a fast-break lay-up to push the lead back to five, 71-66.

Ahead late by just four, 75-71, the Lady Owls went on a 13-4 run to seal the deal. Almost all of the points in the run came at the free-throw line, as Lockett, Angie Smith, and Jennifer Baker each made a pair of free-throws while Henderson sank four from the charity stripe. In all, the Lady Owls went 20-of-25 from the free-throw line for the game en route to the win.

Henderson scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in her final game in the KSU Convocation Center. Greteya Kelley added 12 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Baker led all players with seven assists, the second consecutive game that the senior has reached the seven-assist mark.

Jillian Partin and Jenna Bartsokas tied for game-high honors in scoring for Lipscomb with 19 apiece. Cree Nix had a game-high 12 rebounds as Lipscomb out-rebounded KSU 51-44 for the game and 31-14 in the second half.

The win, coupled with Belmont's loss at Mercer, puts the Lady Owls in a three-way tie for fourth.

KSU will step out of conference play one last time when the Lady Owls travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to face the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.