KENNESAW STATE (6-2) VS JACKSONVILLE STATE (6-1)
GAME 9 | DECEMBER 6 | 2 P.M. ET
KENNESAW, Ga. | KSU CONVOCATION CENTER (4,800)
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN3 | PROMOTIONS | TICKETS | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team looks to make it four-straight wins as the Owls host their second-consecutive Ohio Valley Conference foe in Jacksonville State on Saturday, Dec. 13 in the KSU Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Saturday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Saturday's game with Nathan McCreay and Theresa Gernatt on the call.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's basketball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsWBB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Jacksonville State
The Gamecocks come into Saturday's game riding a six-game winning streak after opening their season with a setback at Texas Tech. JSU's first win of the season came in impressive fashion as the Gamecocks took a 64-62 win over SEC foe Alabama in Tuscaloosa. JSU also has wins over New Orleans, Wofford, Central Arkansas, Georgia Southern and a 64-57 victory over Jackson State in its last outing on Friday, Dec. 5. The Gamecocks are led by Candace Morton and Destany McLin, with 14.4 points and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Miranda Cantrell pulls down 7 boards per contest for JSU as well. The Gamecocks are holding their opponents to just 56.9 points per game, as well as forcing their foes into 17 turnovers per contest.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 18th meeting between the Owls and the Gamecocks, with JSU leading the all-time series, 10-7, after earning a 78-65 win in the teams' last meeting a season ago on Nov. 20, 2013 in Jacksonville, Ala. Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers poured in a career-high 24 points for the Owls, including three three-pointers and 14 second half points, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Kristina Wells fell one rebound short of her third-straight double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds in the setback.  
 
All-Time Record: JSU leads, 10-7
Last Meeting: Jacksonville State won, 78-65, on Nov. 20, 2013 in Jacksonville, Ala.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball earned its third-straight victory with a gutsy 65-60 come-from-behind win over Murray State on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 6) at the KSU Convocation Center. Senior Kristina Wells continued where she left off on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at Georgia State and earned her first double-double of the season with 15 points, including a 4-of-9 mark from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line, to go with 14 rebounds, while sophomore Deandrea Sawyers poured in a team-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including hitting 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Junior Jasmine McAllister registered her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Aareon Smith added her third double figure outing of the year with 10 points, going 5-of-10 from the field.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls head back on the road for a midweek contest in Macon, Ga., as KSU faces off against rival Mercer on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. in Hawkins Arena.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Fast Start
With six wins in the first eight games, the Owls are off to their best start in the Division I era and the best since the 2004-05 season when KSU opened its campaign with seven wins in its first nine contests.
 
Win Streak
With its win last Saturday, KSU has won three-consecutive games for the first time since the 2011-12 season, when the Owls put together a four-game winning streak from Feb. 2-16 and notched wins over USC Upstate, East Tennessee State, Mercer and Jacksonville.
 
Freebies
The Owls lead the Atlantic Sun Conference and ranks 35th nationally with a 74.8 free throw percentage and are averaging 14.1 free throws made per contest, compared to their opponents with 9.3 freebies made per game.
 
Owls from the Field
KSU is also shooting it well from the field and have connected on 40.8 percent of its shots, which sits third in the conference and own the third-best scoring margin in the league at +2.9.
 
Sawyers Named A-Sun Player of the Week
Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers earned her first-career A-Sun Conference Player of the Week on Monday after she poured in a team-high 39 points over the week to average 19.5 points per game, while going 16-of-29 from the field for a 55.2 field goal percentage and drained 7-of-13 from behind the arc. Along with her hot shooting, she did not commit a turnover in 80 minutes of action.
 
McAllister Leading the Way
Junior Jasmine McAllister is leading the league in both scoring and rebounding with 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, with her 11.3 boards per contest also ranking 18th in the nation.
 
Double Doubles
McAllister has registered five double-doubles on the season, which leads the A-Sun and ranks eighth in the NCAA.
 
Offensive Boards
McAllister is also leading the league and ranks ninth nationally with 4.9 offensive rebounds per game. On the season, the Memphis, Tenn., native has pulled down 39 boards on the offensive side of the court.
 
Owls Tops in Scoring
Along with McAllister, the Owls have three players in the top 15 in scoring in the A-Sun. Joining the junior is Sawyers (15.4 ppg, second) and senior Kristina Wells (12.0 ppg, t-13th).
 
Rebounding
The trio, along with redshirt-senior Breonna Mosely, also ranks in the top-15 in the conference in rebounding with McAllister leading the way, followed by Wells (7.6 rpg, sixth), Sawyers (5.1 rpg, t-13th) and Mosely (5.1 rpg, t-13th). 
 
McAllister from the Field
McAllister leads the conference with a 52.0 field goal percentage, connecting on 51-of-98 field goals.
 
Frye Dishing it Out
Junior Karly Frye is averaging 4.3 assists per game, ranking her second in the conference and has dished out 34 helpers on the year. Wells adds 3.0 assists per game to sit sixth in the league and has 24 helpers on the year.
 
Wells from the Charity Stripe
Wells has led the Owls from the charity stripe and ranks fifth in the conference with an 86.8 percentage from the free throw line, going 33-of-38 through eight games this season. She opened the season with 16-straight free throws, before missing her first attempt at Georgia Southern on Nov. 22.
 
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.