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STATESBORO, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's basketball team earned its second road win of the season as the Owls used a dominating performance to defeat in-state rival Georgia Southern, 72-51, on Saturday (Nov. 22) in Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
"I am just elated at how well our girls played and played as a team, especially on the road again," said head coach Nitra Perry. "Jas McAllister had another double-double and we had five kids in double digits. Aareon Smith had a much awaited game. We have been on her in practice and she really responded, so I was really proud of her. Breonna Mosely did what she does and everybody played their role. I was happy about that."
 
For the second-consecutive game sophomore Deandrea Sawyers led all scorers with 19 points for the Owls (3-1), going 8-of-14 from the field. Along with Sawyers, KSU had five players reach double-digit points in the win as junior Jasmine McAllister added 16 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
 
"We will definitely use this game as momentum going into Seton Hall and Columba next week as we travel to New York," added Perry. "Seton Hall is going to be a tough opponent , but when you have a game like this, your confidence is through the roof and we want to use that and hopefully get another win on the road."
 
After an Eagle jumper to open the game, the Owls scored the next 11 points, capped by a traditional three-point play from sophomore Aareon Smith, to take an 11-2 lead at the 13:43 mark of the first half. It would be lead KSU would not relinquish for the rest of the contest.
 
The KSU advantage reached double digits at 19-9 on a layup from redshirt-senior Breonna Mosely with eight and a half minutes remaining the in the first half, before four-straight points from the home team closed the gap to six.
 
Back-to-back jumpers from Sawyers and Mosely extended the Owl lead to 23-13 with six minutes to go, but the Eagles (1-2) used a 7-0 run to get within 23-20 at the 4:50 mark of the first.
 
The Owls then tightened its defense, holding the Eagles to just four points over the next four minutes and capitalizing on the offensive end. A Smith jumper at the buzzer then sent KSU into the break leading 32-24.
 
Out of intermission, the Owls continued its dominance with a 15-4 run to take compete control of the game with a 49-28 advantage with 13 minutes to go in the second period.
 
GSU would not get closer than 15 points for the remainder of the half as the Owls used a combination of fast-paced play and tough defense to sail to the 72-51 victory.
 
Senior Kristina Wells, Mosely and Smith each recorded 10 points in the win to join Sawyers and McAllister in double figures, with Smith's 10 points a season-high for the Louisville, Ky., native.
 
Junior Karly Frye evened her season-high with seven assists, while adding seven points.
 
As a team, KSU went 28-of-58 for a 48.3 percentage from the field, including a 14-of-26 mark (53.8 percent) in the second half, and dominated points in the paint, 43-18.
 
KSU controlled the glass to outrebound Southern, 44-28, including 16 offensive boards. Wells was one-off her season-high with seven rebounds, while Sawyers grabbed six boards.
 
The Owls also picked up a season-high eight steals, with McAllister and Mosely totaling three each as the Owls forced 13 Eagle turnovers.
 
Anna Claire Knight led GSU with 11 points and five rebounds in the loss.
 
Kennesaw State next heads to New York City for the Thanksgiving holiday as the Owls will play a pair of games next week. KSU first takes on Seton Hall in Walsh Gymnasium on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in South Orange, N.J., before facing Columbia in Levien Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 29 in New York.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsWBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.