Women's Basketball Surrenders Late Spurt in Loss to Kennesaw State

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KENNESAW, Georgia – The New Orleans Privateers women's basketball team (1-3) gave up a six-point spurt late in the fourth quarter and fell 60-53 to the Kennesaw State Owls (3-4) on Sunday at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
Jasmine McAllister scored a bucket from in close and got a foul call. McAllister connected on the bonus free throw to give Kennesaw State a 51-50 lead with 1:56 left. After an empty trip by the Privateers, Kelly Dulkoski drained a three with 1:12 left. The Owls were 6-for-8 from the line down the stretch to help seal the win.
 
The Privateers interior defense smothered the Owls at the beginning of the second half as New Orleans won the third quarter 20-7 on their way to taking a 43-39 lead into the fourth. The Owls were held to just 2-of-11 from the field in the quarter while committing nine turnovers.
 
New Orleans began the fourth with the same defensive intensity and a three-pointer by Randi Brown at the 8:43 mark helped extend the Privateers lead to 46-39. However, the Owls came right back with six straight points to get back within a point with 6:23 left.
 
Kennesaw State got out to a quick start, scoring the first seven points of the game and hitting 8-of-11 shots. The Privateers settled in and pulled the Owls lead down to 16-13 with 2:01 remaining in the opening stanza.
 
The Owls responded with another 7-0 run to close the quarter and extend their lead to 10. The run started on a second chance bucket and the Owls also made eight trips to the line, converting on five. Kennesaw State also did not commit a turnover after the media timeout in the first.
 
New Orleans had solid possessions to start the second, cutting the lead quickly to six on buckets by Brown and Raven Coleman. However, the Owls hit another spurt keyed by hot shooting from the three-point line. The Owls made five three-pointers in the opening half and led by as many as 13 before taking a 32-23 lead into the locker room.
 
Brown led the Privateers with 21 points and also hauled in four rebounds. Alexis Martin added nine points and three boards. Shania Woods contributed six points and six boards in 15 minutes of play. The Privateers forced 21 turnovers for the game. Coleman led the team in rebounds for the afternoon with seven.
 
McAllister was one of four Owls in double figures as she scored 11 points and also hauled in 15 rebounds. Dulkoski and Iceis Walker each added 12 points while Karly Frye had 10 points and seven assists. The Owls were 13-for-18 from the free throw line in the second half and 18-for-26 on the day.
 
New Orleans will next take on Trinity Baptist on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Lakefront Arena.
 
For more information on ticket purchasing for the 2015-16 season, click here or call (504) 280-GAME (4263).
 
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