KENNESAW, Ga. – After poor shooting in the first three quarters, Lipscomb women's basketball battled back in the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game down the stretch. With six seconds left in regulation, the Bisons could not hit the shot that would have forced overtime, falling to Kennesaw State (9-13, 5-4 ASUN) on the road 62-59. 

Aleah Sorrentino earned her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Bella Vinson and Claira McGowan logged 10 points each in the loss. Ainhoa Cea made an impact in several categories for the Bisons with six points, eight rebounds, and four assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Shots did not fall in the first half for the Bisons. Lipscomb went just 7-of-28 from the floor in the opening twenty minutes of action. The second-best three-point shooting team by percentage in the conference went without a triple in the first half, missing all 15 of her attempts.

Despite the uncharacteristic shooting woes, Lipscomb found themselves down six with 3:09 left in the second quarter after two free throws from Cea. However, the Owls stretched their lead to 10 at halftime (34-24). 

Lipscomb kept battling in the third quarter, but shots still weren't falling at a normal rate. Kennesaw State eventually worked to take a 49-37 lead into the fourth quarter in their home gym.

The Bisons showed to quit and clawed their way back into contention in the fourth quarter. A 8-0 scoring run cut their deficit to one (59-58) with 49 seconds left in regulation. Kennesaw State hit one of two free throws to go up two, but they gave the Bisons 17 seconds to work with for the opportunity to tie or take the lead with a three-pointer.

Vinson drew a foul on her drive to the basket on the following possession but missed the front in of the two free throws. She buried the second, which chopped the Owls lead down to one again with eight seconds remaining. The Bisons wisely fouled, but Kennesaw State knocked down the two free throws to make it a three-point game with a little over six second to work with.

After a timeout that advanced the ball to half court, McGowan's three-point look from the corner fell short. As a result, Lipscomb fell to Kennesaw State 62-59. The loss moved the Bisons to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in conference play. 

HERD NOTES:

• Lipscomb's road winning streak came to an end Saturday afternoon.
• Lipscomb won the war on the boards 48-40, marking the first time the Bisons lost this season when winning the rebound battle.
• Kennesaw State coughed the ball up 15 times compared to 13 for the Bisons. 
• The Bisons went 22-of-28 from the free-throw line.
• Kennesaw State now leads the series over the Owls 10-23. 
• Sorrentino's double-double against the Owls was the third this season and ninth of her career. 
• Vinson and McGowan scored in double-figures in their 14th game this season. 
• The Bisons outscored the Owls by seven in the second half. 
• Lipscomb shot 26 percent from the floor, their lowest field goal percentage of any game the season. 

UP NEXT: 

The Bisons now turn their attention to their final road game of this three-game slate as they travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CT with the matchup streamed on ESPN+. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts (@lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X) for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.