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KENNESAW, Ga. – It was historic day for the Kennesaw State women's basketball team as the Owls sent seniors Kristina Wells and Valescia Dixon out with an exclamation point by earning the 17th win of the season, the most for KSU in an NCAA Division I era season, with a 75-57 blowout of Lipscomb in their Atlantic Sun Conference regular season finale on Saturday (Feb. 28) at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
"I am so proud of them," said head coach Nitra Perry of her two seniors. "First of all, I do not think it could have been a better way than how they left it today with Kristina finishing her career at home with the double-double and like I told V, she had not hit free throws all year [Dixon hit a pair of free throws late in the game] and this is what you do, you leave it all out there. Their growth has been phenomenal. I have had Kristina for three years and she has always been a hard worker, but now her leadership as far as leading by example in finishing games and being an encourager has made it easy. They do not like doing that for me, but they did, and Valescia bringing energy all the time. It has not been an easy road for either one of them or for the team, but they have hung in there and they have believed the vision the whole way. I just appreciate what they have done and applaud their growth thus far."
 
With the win, the Owls move to 17-12 on the season and finish the A-Sun slate at 6-8. KSU will be the fifth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship and will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to face fourth-seeded Jacksonville on Friday, March 6 in Swisher Gymnasium.
 
Redshirt-freshman Kelly Dulkoski led four Owls in double figures with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-10 mark from beyond the arc.
 
Joining her in double figures were Wells, junior Jasmine McAllister and sophomore Aareon Smith, who each registered double-doubles in the victory. McAllister turned in 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, while Smith totaled her first career double-double with 12 points, including a 5-of-5 mark from the charity stripe and a career-high 12 rebounds, with eight boards coming on the offensive end of the court.
 
In her final regular season game at the Convocation Center, Wells posted 11 points and evened her career-high with 15 rebounds, while also adding six assists and three steals on the day.
 
Following a layup from Wells to open the game's scoring, the Owls sprinted ahead for an 11-4 lead at the 14:36 mark of the first half.
 
A 7-2 mini run from the Bisons (8-20, 3-11) closed the gap to 13-11, but KSU exploded for a 20-0 run over the next six minutes that saw Dulkoski drill three three-pointers and catapulted the home team to a 20-point lead at 31-11 with five minutes remaining in the half.
 
The two teams then traded baskets as the Owls went into the break with a 44-27 advantage.
 
The Owls continued its dominance in the second half as the Bisons would only get as close as 55-42 with 11 minutes remaining in the game, but a Dulkoski trey followed by a Wells fast break layup pushed the margin back to 18 points.
 
A 10-4 run over the next five minutes gave the Owls its biggest lead of the game at 70-48 at the 5:24 mark of the second half, before Dixon sealed the 75-57 Senior Day win with a pair of free throws.
 
As a team, the Owls shot 40.9 percent on 27-of-66 from the field, including a 47.4 percent mark in the first half on 18-of-38 shooting. KSU held the Bisons to 35.5 percent on 22-of-62 shooting and a 5-of-17 mark from long range.
 
KSU dominated the battle of the boards, 57-27, while pulling down 20 offensive rebounds that the Owls turned into 14 second chance points.
 
Ashley Southern led the Bisons with 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss. 
 
With the conclusion of the regular season on Saturday, the Owls next enter Atlantic Sun Conference Championship play and will be the fifth seed in tournament. The Owls will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to face fourth-seeded Jacksonville in a quarterfinal contest on Friday, March 6 in Swisher Gymnasium.
 
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