Lady Tigers Defeat Kennesaw State, 78-65, On Monday Night

Dec. 29, 2008

CLEMSON, SC – Lele Hardy led four double figure scorers with 16 points on Monday night as the Clemson women’s basketball team defeated Kennesaw State, 78-65, at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The junior from Spartanburg, SC finished with 16 points and eight rebounds as the Lady Tigers won the battle on the boards for the first time this month. Jasmine Tate had a team-high nine rebounds while April Parker also pulled down eight boards. Parker nearly posted a double-double with 12 points and recorded three of Clemson’s eight blocked shots on the night.

The Lady Tigers, who improved to 9-3 on the year, jumped out to an early lead and extended it to as many as 18 points with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Owls (4-6) scored the next 15 points before Sthefany Thomas ended the Clemson drought with a basket in the paint.

The Lady Tigers then posted six of the final eight points of the half for the 43-35 advantage at the break.

“We started out pretty well,” said Clemson Head Coach Cristy McKinney, “but all year, when we’ve gotten a lead, we’ve let up. I thought our defense played great and we got on the boards hard on both ends. When we needed stops, we got stops. Overall, I was pretty pleased.”

Kennesaw State then opened the second half on a 17-8 run to take its first lead, 52-51, since the 18:56 mark of the first half. Hardy knocked down a jumper to give the advantage back to the Lady Tigers, who held on for the rest of the game.

Thomas hit back-to-back shots with six minutes remaining to put Clemson on top by seven at 62-55 before the lead stretched to nine on a pair of free throws by Tasha Taylor. Gia Lockett and Brittney Henderson then scored baskets to put the Owls with in five with 3:56 left. Parker drained a jumper from the left baseline for the 10-point lead at the 1:14 mark.

Hardy scored the final three points to give the Lady Tigers the 13-point margin.

Clemson converted 52.6 percent from the field on Monday night while holding the Owls to just 24-65 shooting.

Jennifer Baker led all scorers with 17 points for Kennesaw State while Henderson recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Friday night as they play host to Charlotte. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tipoff from Littlejohn Coliseum.