KENNESAW STATE (13-7, 2-3) VS NORTH FLORIDA (10-10, 1-4)
GAME 21 | JANUARY 29, 2015 | 7 P.M. ET
KENNESAW, Ga. | KSU CONVOCATION CENTER (4,800)
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN3 | PROMOTIONS | TICKETS | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
After two weeks away from the friendly confines of the KSU Convocation Center, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team returns to open a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference home stand, first taking on North Florida on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. ET.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Thursday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Thursday'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 OPPONENT:
North Florida
The Ospreys enter Thursday's conference contest with an overall record of 10-10 and are 1-4 in the A-Sun. UNF is coming off of a 71-62 loss to Lipscomb on Saturday, after earning its first league win a week ago in a 81-79 double overtime decision against Northern Kentucky on Jan. 22. The Ospreys are 2-7 away from UNF Arena and have lost four of their last five contests. UNF is led by Destinee Smith, who averages 13.6 points per game and leads the team with 34 three-pointers made. Paulina Zaveckaite pulls down 11.2 rebounds per game to lead both the Ospreys and the A-Sun, while also averaging 9.4 points per contest. UNF averages 18.6 turnovers per game, while forcing 13.2 from their opponents for a -5.4 turnover margin. On the glass, the Ospreys own a +2.7 rebounding margin and are averaging 40.7 rebounds per game.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 37th meeting between the Owls and the Ospreys, with the Owls holding a 20-6 advantage in the all-time series. KSU and UNF split its two meetings a season ago, with the Owls earning a 59-51 win in Kennesaw, before dropping a 50-46 decision on March 8 in Jacksonville in the teams' previous meeting. Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls in the win on Jan. 4 with 21 points on a career-high seven three-pointers, while senior Kristina Wells totaled 28 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in the two contests against the Ospreys last season. 
 
All-Time Record: KSU leads, 20-16
Last Meeting: UNF won, 50-46, on March 8, 2014 in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Despite junior Jasmine McAllister's Atlantic Sun Conference-leading 10th double-double of the season, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team dropped a 61-47 decision to conference leader Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night (Jan. 24) at Alico Arena. McAllister notched her third 20-point game of the season with 20 points, including 14 in the second half alone, on 8-of-16 shooting, to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive end of the court. Redshirt-freshman Kelly Dulkoski pitched in nine points on 3-of-6 three-pointers for the Owls, while senior Kristina Wells added six points and six rebounds in the loss.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls continue their three-game home stand as they host Jacksonville on Saturday, Jan. 31 in the KSU Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Win Total
The Owls equaled their win total from last season (6-24) in just eight games this season and have won 13 games for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
 
Owls on the Glass
KSU ranks second the conference in rebounding margin in both overall play (+2.7) and A-Sun action (+4.6) and is holding its opponents to just 33.2 rebounds per contest in conference action and 36.8 rebounds per game in overall play, to rank first and second respectively.
 
Offensive Boards
KSU is grabbing 14.0 boards on the offensive end of the ball to rank third in the A-Sun in overall action. In league play, the Owls are averaging 12.4 offensive boards per game.
 
Protecting the Ball
KSU is averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game, coming in second in the league and 41st in the country in that category.
 
Sawyers Leading the Owls
Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers is leading the A-Sun in scoring in overall action (15.6 ppg) and ranks second in conference play (18.4 ppg) after opening  with three 20-point contests in the first five games of the conference slate.
 
McAllister on the Boards
Junior Jasmine McAllister ranks second in the conference in rebounding and fourth in scoring with 14.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, while also ranking third in the A-Sun with a 49.8 percent clip from the field.
 
Senior Leadership
Senior Kristina Wells joins McAllister in the top-five in the conference for rebounding and ranks fifth with 8.2 boards per contest, while coming in 18th in scoring with 10.7 points a game.
 
McAllister on the Boards, Part II
McAllister's 10.8 boards ranks 19th in the NCAA, while the junior also leads the A-Sun and ranks 17th in the country with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game. On the season, she has grabbed 224 boards, with 87 coming on the offensive end of the court.
 
Trey-mendous
Sawyers ranks third in the A-Sun with 15 three-pointers in conference play and has connected on the second-most three pointers in the conference in overall action with 46 treys on the season. She is averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game, which also ranks second in the A-Sun in that category.
 
Double-Doubles
With 20 points and 13 rebounds against Florida Gulf Coast, McAllister registered her league-leading 10th double-double of the season and ranks 19th in the NCAA in that category.
 
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
Wells owns the second-best conference assist-to-turnover ratio and is 40th in the nation with a 2.2 ratio with 71 assists and just 33 turnovers in 712 minutes this season, the third-most minutes played in the A-Sun behind junior Karly Frye and Sawyers.
 
Frye and Wells Dishing the Rock
Frye joins Wells in the top five with 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in overall action to rank fifth and has passed out 70 assists on 66 turnovers in a league-leading 756 minutes of action.
 
Assists in Overall Action
Wells leads the Owls and is fourth in the conference with 3.6 assists per game, while Frye ranks fifth in the league with 3.5 assists per game.
 
Assists in Conference Play
Wells and Frye rank in a tie for second with 17 assists in conference play and are averaging 3.4 helpers per A-Sun  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.