ASUN Conference Quarterfinal Highlights (courtesy ASUN)

Post Game Interview w/ Lanpher and seniors Dudley and Horton

Photo Gallery

KENNESAW, GA—In a down to the wire contest, fourth-seeded Kennesaw State held on for a 62-60 win over fifth-seeded NJIT in the ASUN Conference Quarterfinals held at the KSU Convocation Center Friday night.

NJIT (11-19), which rallied back from down by as many as 11, cut the Kennesaw State lead to within two, 56-58, with 3:25 in the final period.  After four straight points by the Owls, NJIT's Tatianna Torres connected on a fast break jumper at the two-minute mark and senior leader Leah Horton pulled down, what would be her biggest offensive rebound of her career and converted a layup, pulling the fifth-seeded Highlanders to within two, 60-62.

After consecutive misses by the Owls, NJIT's Alana Dudley grabbed her fourth rebound of the game and advanced the ball over half court, calling a timeout in front of the Highlander bench with 18.1 second on the clock.

The ball, in-bounded to senior point guard Alana Dudley, came off a high screen from Horton and found NJIT's Tracey Brereton, behind the three-point line, who pulled the trigger but the ball rolled in and out of the cylinder as the Kennesaw State Owls escaped an upset and held on to a 62-60 victory.

Kennesaw State had four players reach double-figures, paced by 12 points each from Kelly Dulkoski and ASUN Freshman of the Year Carlotta Gianolla.  Forward Allison Johnson and guard Deja McPhee chipped in 10 points apiece.  Guard Clara Young dished out a game-best 10 assists while McPhee and Johnson grabbed seven rebounds to give the Owls a 38-to-36 advantage on the glass.

NJIT's Alana Dudley, playing in her final collegiate game, led all scorers with 15 points, on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including two three-pointers from behind the arc.  Center Leah Horton, also playing in her final game as a Highlander, combined for 12 points and six rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.  Torres added 10 points for the Highlanders.

A back and forth affair over the first 10 minutes of play, the Highlanders found themselves down by as many as five on three occasions and rallied back to close the gap to within one, 10-11, on back-to-back buckets on Brereton's spin move and a put back by Horton.

Kennesaw State, which poured in 25 second-quarter points, scored the opening five points, pushing its lead to six, 16-10, just 45 seconds into the quarter, resulting in an early timeout for the Highlanders. 

The home team pushed its lead to double-digits, 32-21, after a three-pointer by Kelly Dulkoski and layup from Deja McPhee.  NJIT scored the next five points, slimming the Owls lead to within seven, 25-32, sparked by a jumper in the paint by Dudley. 

A layup by Chloe Branch brought the Owl lead back to nine, 34-25, but NJIT's Horton answered on the opposite end with a jumper from the elbow, cutting the lead down to seven, 27-34.  Kennesaw State sank a pair of free throws with :12 left in the period, heading into halftime with a nine-point advantage, 36-27.

Dulkoski led all scorers at the half with 12 points, including 4-of-7 from downtown while NJIT was paced by Dudley's seven points.

NJIT's redshirt sophomore Kelly Guarino opened the scoring in the second half, knocking down a three-pointer but the Owls scored the next four, taking a 10-point advantage, 40-30.

The Highlanders used a 7-0 spurt, sparked by a pair of free throws by Tunstall, to pull within three of the Owls, 37-40, with 4:43 on the clock.

Dudley connected on consecutive three-pointers, bringing the deficit to four, 40-44, with 2:15 remaining on the clock.  After one-of-two made from the free throw line for the Owls, NJIT found themselves down with three, 42-45, after a turnaround jumper in the paint by Maria Ruban.  The Owls would close out the final 1:34 on a 4-2 run, holding a 49-44 lead, heading into the fourth quarter.

Horton scored the first points of the fourth quarter and added a bucket at the 8:06 mark, bringing the Highlanders to within three, 46-49.  Kennesaw State pushed its lead up to as many as eight, 58-50, on a layup by Allison Johnson with 5:42. 

NJIT battled back and would score six straight from the 5:27 mark to the 3:25 mark, closing the gap to within two, 56-58.

The Highlanders finished the 2016-17 season with 11 wins (second highest win total in the last three season).

Dudley finished her collegiate career with 930 points, 285 assists (second in the NJIT D1 era) and 106 steals while Horton combined for 828 points and 532 rebounds.

Torres, who concludes her sophomore season, combined for 67 steals, which is the new NJIT D1 era record while leading the ASUN Conference in steals (2.4 spg).