KENNESAW STATE (11-3) VS MERCER (7-8)
GAME 15 | JANUARY 6 | 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 will close out the nonconference slate of its schedule looking to take the season sweep against in-state rival Mercer on Tuesday, Jan. 6 in the KSU Convocation Center. The ESPN3-broadcasted contest is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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 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 PROMOTIONS:
Tuesday night is 90s Night at the Convocation Center with fans encouraged to wear their best 90s outfit as well as tweet @KSUOwlsWBB for 90s song requests. Along with 90s Night, it is Student Appreciation Night with the first 300 students receiving a free "BearBusters" shirt. Georgia Lottery will also be on hand for its Dollars for Degrees program as Georgia Lottery will be giving out $1,000 for two lucky students in attendance.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Mercer
The Bears enter Tuesday's midweek clash with an overall record of 7-8 after breaking a five-game winless streak that started with the Owls win in Macon on Dec. 16 in a 61-47 win over Florida A&M on Sunday. Mercer is 3-5 on the road this season and has three players averaging double figure points. The Bears are led by Precious Bridges with 21.8 points per game and is shooting at a 40.4 percent clip from the floor. Joining her in double figures is Kahlia Lawrence with 11.5 points and Alicia Williams with 10.0 points per game. On the boards, the Bears are paced by Teanna Robinson, who is pulling down 7.1 boards per contest and has totaled 40 blocks on the year. As a team, Mercer owns a +2.9 rebounding margin and averaging 6.1 steals per game.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 19th meeting between the Owls and the Bears, with the Owls leading the all-time series, 10-9, after KSU earned a 76-56 blowout win in Macon earlier in the season on Dec. 16, 2014. Senior Kristina Wells paced the Owls with a team-high 20 points, on 5-of-9 shooting and a 10-of-10 mark from the free throw line, to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds and six assists. It marked the second double-double of the season for the Douglasville, Ga., native and the 15th of her career. Junior Jasmine McAllister added her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points, 11 boards and a season-high four blocks, while sophomore Deandrea Sawyers poured in 19 points, including four three-pointers.  
 
All-Time Record: KSU leads, 10-9
Last Meeting: KSU won, 76-56, on Dec. 16, 2014 in Macon, Ga.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
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. 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.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls open the Atlantic Sun Conference slate with a trip to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on USC Upstate in the Hodge Center on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Best Start in over a Decade…
With 10 wins in the first 12 games, the Owls posted their best start in the Division I era and the best since the 2000-01 season when KSU opened its campaign with 13 wins in its first 15 contests.
 
Seven-Game Win Streak
With a win against Xavier, KSU put together a seven-game win  streak for the first time in the Division I era and first time since the 2001-02 season, when the Owls put together an eight-game winning streak with wins over Clayton State, USC Spartanburg, Lander, Armstrong Atlantic, Columbus State, Francis Marion, Augusta State and GC&SU.
 
Owls Scoring
The Owls' 79 points against Florida A&M was the highest output of the season for KSU, who is 4-1 when scoring 70 or more points and 10-1 when scoring 60 or more points. Defensively, the Owls are 11-0 when holding their opponents to 69 points or less. 
 
Turnovers
KSU is averaging just 13.5 turnovers per game, coming in second in the league and 24th in the country in that category.
 
A-Sun Weekly Honors
The Owls have collected six weekly honors from the A-Sun Conference this season, with junior Jasmine McAllister earning Newcomer of the Week three times this season and junior Karly Frye earning the accolade once. Senior Kristina Wells and sophomore Deandrea Sawyers have also earned Player of the Week honors this season.
 
A-Sun 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), field goal percentage (McAllister, redshirt-senior Breonna Mosely) and assists (Frye, Wells).
 
McAllister's Play
McAllister leads the conference in rebounding and ranks third in scoring with 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, while also ranking fourth in the A-Sun with a 49.4 percent clip from the field.
 
Jas on the Boards
McAllister's league-leading 11.5 boards ranks 10th in the NCAA and she is also leading the A-Sun and ranks 10th in the nation with 4.7 offensive boards per game. On the season, she has pulled down 161 rebounds, with 66 of those coming on the offensive end of the court. 
 
Double-Doubles
McAllister has registered eight double-doubles on the season, which leads the A-Sun and ranks 12th in the NCAA.
 
Top Scorers in the A-Sun
Along with McAllister, the Owls have three players in the top-15 in scoring in the A-Sun. Leading the way is Sawyers, who ranks second in the conference with 15.4 points per game, followed by McAllister and Wells (15th, 12.3 ppg).
 
Top Rebounders in the A-Sun
The trio, along with Mosely, also ranks in the top-18 in the conference in rebounding with McAllister leading the way, followed by Wells (fifth, 8.2 rpg), Mosely (12th, 5.4) and Sawyers (18th, 4.6 rpg). 
 
A-Sun Active Career Point Leader
Wells played in her 100th game for the Owls last Monday at Alabama A&M and in her 101st contest on Friday against Florida A&M, the senior scored her 1,200 point. Wells is the active career point leader with 1,201 points, to go with 710 rebounds and 267 assists for her career.
 
Assists
Frye is averaging 3.6 assists per game, ranking her third in the conference and has dished out 51 helpers on the year. Wells adds 3.5 assists per game to sit fifth in the league and has 49 helpers on the year.
 
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
Wells ranks second in the conference and 15th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, owning a 2.7 ratio with 49 assists and just 18 turnovers on the season.
 
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.