KENNESAW STATE (12-4, 1-0) VS NORTHERN KENTUCKY (10-6, 1-0)
GAME 17 | JANUARY 14, 2015 | 7 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 continues Atlantic Sun Conference action with its league home opener on Wednesday, Jan. 14 as the Owls host Northern Kentucky in an ESPN3-broadcasted contest at 7 p.m. ET in the KSU Convocation Center.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Tuesday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Tuesday's game with Nathan McCreary 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 PROMOTIONS:
Wednesday's game is the Pink Out game for the Owls, with fans encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. The first 100 fans will also receive free pink bags of popcorn.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Northern Kentucky
The Norse enter Wednesday's midweek clash with an overall record of 10-6 and are 1-0 to start the conference after earning a 81-70 win over Lipscomb last Saturday as Rianna Gayheart and Christine Roush led the Norse with 20 and 17 points, respectively. NKU has won six of its last seven contests and owns a 3-3 mark away from the Bank of Kentucky Center. The Norse are paced by a pair of double-figure scorers in Melody Doss with 13.5 points per game and Roush at 11.8 points per contest. Kaitlyn Gerrety leads the squad on the glass with 5.7 boards per game, while Gayheart has handed out a team-high 43 assists. NKU leads the conference with a 75.7 free throw percentage, but ranks last in the league with a 36.3 field goal percentage. 
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the fifth meeting between the Owls and the Norse, with NKU leading the all-time series, 3-1, with the Owls earning their first-ever win over the Norse in the teams' last meeting a season ago. KSU put together a stifling defensive effort for a 53-39 win at the KSU Convocation Center on Feb. 8, 2014. The Owls held NKU to25 percent shooting in the game, including 4.5 percent in the first half after allowing only a single field goal in the period. NKU's 39 points tied the lowest opponent point total in program history. Senior guard Kristina Wells continued her dominance with a game-high 16 points and came within one rebound of her career-high with 14 boards in the win.
 
All-Time Record: NKU leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: KSU won, 53-39, on Feb. 8, 2014 in Kennesaw, Ga.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team opened the Atlantic Sun Conference slate with a win as the Owls used a complete team effort to earn a 72-63 victory over USC Upstate on Saturday (Jan.. 10) night at the Hodge Center. Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls with a game-high 21 points, including three three-pointers and a career-high five assists, while junior Jasmine McAllister posted her league-leading ninth double-double of the season with 17 points, including 14 second-half points and 11 rebounds.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls head on the road to continue Atlantic Sun Conference play with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., to face Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. ET in Allen Arena.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
A-Sun Home Openers
KSU is 3-6 in Atlantic Sun Conference home openers in its nine-year history and is looking for its first win in a conference home-opener since the 2008-09 season when the Owls registered a 80-63 victory over USC Upstate on Dec. 13, 2008 in Kennesaw.
 
Opening A-Sun with a Win
KSU opened the Atlantic Sun Conference slate with a win on Saturday, making it the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Owls have registered a win in their conference opener, while also snapping a four-game winless streak against USC Upstate in the process.
 
Win Total
The Owls equaled their win total from last season (6-24) in just eight games this season and have won 12 games for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
 
Three-Point Defense
The Owls are holding opponents to just 26.0 percent from behind the three-point line to lead the A-Sun and rank 24th in the nation.
 
Turnovers
KSU is averaging just 13.6 turnovers per game, coming in second in the league and 31st in the country in that category.
 
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
The Owls own the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 0.9 and have registered 194 helpers on 217 turnovers in 16 games this season.
 
A-Sun Weekly Honors
The Owls have collected seven weekly honors from the A-Sun Conference this season, with junior Jasmine McAllister the latest honoree after taking home her fourth Newcomer of the Week accolade on Monday. Junior Karly Frye has also earned Newcomer of the Week honors, while senior Kristina Wells and sophomore Deandrea Sawyers have also been tabbed Player of the Week earlier this season.
 
McAllister Named A-Sun Newcomer of the Week
McAllister averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds over the course of the week, while also shooting the ball at a 58.3 percent clip. She paced the Owls with her league-leading ninth double-double of the season in a 72-63 road win over USC Upstate on Saturday, posting 17 points, including 14 in the second half, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
 
Owls in the Top Five
The Owls are the only team in the league that has two players in the top five in scoring (Sawyers, McAllister), rebounding (McAllister, Wells) and assists (Frye, Wells).
 
McAllister Pacing Owls
McAllister leads the conference in rebounding and ranks third in scoring with 14.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, while also ranking second in the A-Sun with a 50.5 percent clip from the field.
 
Scoring Sawyers
Sawyers leads the Owls in scoring and ranks second in the A-Sun with 15.1 points per game, while Wells ranks in the top-20 with 11.4 points per game to sit 17th in the league.
 
Wells on the Boards
Wells joins McAllister in the top-five in the conference for rebounding and ranks fifith with 8.4 boards per contest.
 
McAllister Nationally Ranked
McAllister's league-leading 11.3 boards ranks 11th in the NCAA and along with that the junior leads the A-Sun and ranks 18th in the country with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. On the season, she has pulled down 181 rebounds, with 72 of those coming on the offensive end of the court.
 
Wells Leading A-Sun in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
Wells leads conference and is 11th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, owning a 2.85 ratio with 56 assists and just 20 turnovers in 568 minutes this season.
 
Frye and Wells Dishing the Rock
Wells and Frye lead the Owls and are tied for fourth in the A-Sun with 56 assists on the season and are averaging 3.5 helpers per contest.
 
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.