KENNESAW, Ga. – A 3-point buzzer-beater from Kennesaw State senior Amani Johnson sent the Owls into overtime on Monday against Furman. They went on to win by 11 points and held Furman to just 2 in OT.
Co-captain Johnson not only hit the pivotal shot from near NBA depth, but she also walked away Monday with her 400th career assist. This was a feat she didn’t even know about until The Female Field‘s Monica Ryan told her.
“I actually had no clue until you just said that. So that’s exciting,” Johnson said. “That’s really exciting!”
KSU was down by 11 with 3:40 left in the third quarter, but they came back to eventually win by that same number.
“Being prepared and really getting deep into that mentality of just being a dog and having that fight is really what got us the momentum and helped us just keep pushing,” Johnson said.
She said the play the Owls ran with just seconds left in regulation got “a little jumbled up and didn’t go as planned,” but when she did get the ball, Johnson said she had no idea where she was standing.
“Wow, I was deep,” she said.
This was KSU’s first overtime win at home since December 15, 2017.
Half of Johnson’s college career has been during the pandemic.
“Last year was a really tough and challenging season,” she said. “It was also really tough playing back-to-back last year playing Saturday and Sunday especially I play a lot of minutes as our point guard.
Johnson said playing 38 to 40 minutes two days in a row was wearing on her.
“My body is getting old. I’m not going to be able to make it anymore, but overall it was a really good learning experience and it showed our team I think how to get through a lot of adversity which is kind of paying off now,” she said.
Johnson is also the President of the Student Government Association and plans to use her COVID year in the 2022-2033 season at KSU while getting her Master of Business Administration.
The Owls’ are now 3-6. Their next game is at home against Georgia Southern on December 17 at 7 p.m.
