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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Behind career efforts from sophomore Aareon Smith and junior Karly Frye, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team took the season sweep against North Florida with a 64-52 win on Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon in UNF Arena.
 
With the win, the Owls (16-9, 5-5) earned its 16th victory of the season, which equals the most wins since the 2007-08 season when KSU finished the season with a 16-12 record and the most wins in NCAA Division I program history.
 
"I thought it was a team effort," said head coach Nitra Perry. "We got good production from Jasmine McAllister with 13 points and 5-of-5 from the floor. Karly Frye hit some shots when we kind of went through a little dry spell and was 3-of-6 from three-point line. Kristina Wells brought a lot of energy today. I just thought we took really good shots as a team and we rebounded with a strong effort from the free throw line. Then of course, Aareon Smith coming off the bench and scoring 19 points in 26 minutes and getting on the offensive boards. She had a complete game today, so I was extremely proud of her and her effort."
 
Smith led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, including a 5-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. Frye equaled her career-high with 13 points, including three three-pointers in the first half, while also pulling down a career-high five rebounds in the win.
 
Joining the pair in double figures was junior Jasmine McAllister with 13 points and senior Kristina Wells, who posted 12 second-half points. McAllister and Wells paced the Owls on the boards with seven rebounds each.
 
In a competitive first half of action that saw five lead changes and four ties, neither team grabbed more than a four-point advantage as the game entered the final two minutes of the frame with the Ospreys (10-15, 1-9) holding a 21-19 lead.
 
The Owls then ended the period on a 10-0 run, including eight-straight points from Smith, before Frye sent KSU into the break with a 29-21 edge following a pair of free throws with less than a second left on the clock.
 
Smith continued where she left off in the opening period with five-straight points to push the Owls' margin to double digits at 36-25 with 15 and a half minutes remaining in the second.
 
The Ospreys responded to cut the lead to 40-34 following a pair of free throws, but a 15-4 run over the next three minutes propelled KSU to a 39-54 edge and put the game out of reach.
 
KSU held onto a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest with the closest the Ospreys would get being at 55-45 with 5:03 left in the game. The Owls then shut the door on the home team with a 9-2 run to build its largest lead at 64-47, before going on to the 64-52 road win.
 
The Owls went 21-of-45 from the field for 46.7 percent, including shooting at a blistering 56 percent in the second half on 14-of-25 shooting. KSU drilled 9-of-22 three pointers, while also connecting on 13-of-16 freebies. On the other end, the Owls held UNF to 21-of-53 shooting for 39.6 percent.
 
KSU handed out 13 assists, with Wells totaling a team-high four, while Frye posted three helpers.
 
The Owls were hampered by 15 turnovers that UNF turned into 16 points, but KSU also forced the Ospreys into 14 miscues that they capitalized on for 11 points.
 
KSU won the rebounding battle for the third-straight game, 34-28, including 12 offensive boards that they turned into 13 second chance points.
 
KSU returns to the KSU Convocation Center for back-to-back home contests against the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference next week, first taking on league leader Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. ET.
 
Paulina Zaveckaite led the Ospreys with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Destinee Smith added 17 points in the loss.
 
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