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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's basketball team opened the New Year off with a bang as the Owls routed Florida A&M, 79-58, on Friday night (Jan. 2) at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
"It felt great [to get the win]," said head coach Nitra Perry. "The one good thing about a loss is that you can move onto the next game and redeem yourself. I thought today they really responded and took some ownership of the team. I thought the change was our defensive effort. Kristina got out there and got a couple steals, which gave Deandrea some confidence to get out there and get a steal. I thought our defense today was an eight out of a 10. We double-teamed the post pretty much every time flawlessly and rotated down, which is something we have been focused on, so I was just pleased with their effort today and their focus."
 
Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls (11-3) with her second 20-point contest of the season with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including five three pointers and five rebounds. Senior Kristina Wells had another all-around game with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including a 4-of-5 effort from the free throw line, a game-high six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the early going that included six ties and neither team taking more than a four-point lead in the first 12 minutes of the game.
 
With the Rattlers (4-8) leading 23-19 with 7:26 left in the first half, the Owls upped their defensive pressure to spark a 14-2 run to end the half, including holding FAMU scoreless in the final 4:49 of the period to go into intermission with a 33-25 advantage.
 
There was no let up for the Owls out of the break, as KSU pushed its lead to 54-27 with a 21-2 run out of halftime, including not allowing the Rattlers a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half, while using four-straight three-pointers from Sawyers, sophomore Aareon Smith and junior Karly Frye to widen its gap.
 
FAMU closed within 66-48 with seven minutes to go in regulation, but that would be as close as the visitors would get as the Owls cruised to the 79-58 victory.
 
Smith and freshman Neffie Lockley joined Sawyers and Wells in double figures as the sophomore added 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a 4-of-4 mark from the charity stripe and eight rebounds, while Lockey poured in a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and pulled down five boards.
 
The Owls dominated the glass, 42-35, including grabbing 17 offensive rebounds that they turned into 18 second chance points. Junior Jasmine McAllister led the way with a game-high nine boards in the win.
 
KSU dished out 16 assists, while forcing the Rattlers into 20 turnovers, which the Owls turned into 25 points. Frye handed out five assists on the night.
 
As a team, the Owls shot 46.7 percent from the field on 28-of-60 shooting, while holding FAMU to just 35.8 percent from the field on 19-of-53 shooting.
 
Olivia Antillla posted 16 points in the loss for the Rattlers.
 
The Owls will close out the nonconference slate of their schedule looking to take the season sweep against in-state rival Mercer on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. in the KSU Convocation Center.
 
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.