The Kentucky State University women's basketball team came back from a seven-point deficit in less than a minute span in the fourth quarter, but ultimately Fort Valley State scored the final four points of the game to record the 55-52 win at the William Exum Center in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Saturday.

For the second straight game, Kentucky State missed a shot at the buzzer.

Kentucky State has lost five straight to fall to 4-8 overall, 1-4 in the SIAC, while Fort Valley State improves to 6-8 overall, 3-3 SIAC.
 
Turning Point
Following a Kentucky State timeout with 37 seconds remaining, and KSU trailing by one, Fort Valley State switched to a 2-3 zone on the ensuing possession. Kentucky State turned the ball over with 16 seconds remaining, and FVSU hit both free throws for the final margin.

Individual Leaders
Senior forward Victoria Blankenship (Fayetteville, N.C.) tallied her first double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds, both season highs. She was 8-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-13 at the free throw line. The 10 free throw makes and 13 attempts were season highs.

Senior guard Amani Williams (Scotch Plains, N.J.) added seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Senior guard Carnethia Brown (Louisville, Ky.) added seven points and five rebounds, while junior Erica Jones (South Haven, Miss.) pulled down 13 rebounds.

Coach Speak
"I thought we played hard and had a lot of energy," said Kentucky State University head coach Terrance Slater. "Down the stretch we made a couple key mistakes and it kind of cost us."

Inside the Box Score
Kentucky State played with just seven players with six of the seven playing at least 26 minutes.

The Thorobreds shot just 28.1 percent (16-of-57) from the floor and 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from three-point range, while Fort Valley State converted 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the floor.

KSU pulled down at least 50 rebounds for the second time this season, including a season-high 22 offensive rebounds. Jones and Blankenship tallied six offensive boards each for the Thorobreds.

Junior Khaliah Herbert (Crete, Ill.) was 6-of-7 from the foul line.

Next Up
The Thorobreds host Clark Atlanta 5:30 p.m. Monday in SIAC action. The Panthers are coming off a 77-70 win over Central State to improve to 4-10 overall, 3-3 SIAC.