KENNESAW STATE (14-8, 3-4) VS USC UPSTATE (11-11, 3-4)
GAME 23 | FEBRUARY 6, 2015 | 12 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 enters the second half of Atlantic Sun Conference action on Saturday (Feb. 7) as the Owls host USC Upstate at the KSU Convocation Center at 12 p.m. ET.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Saturday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Saturday'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:
USC UPSTATE
The Spartans enter Saturday's game with an 11-11 overall record and are tied with the Owls at 3-4 in the conference standings. After losing three-straight, the Spartans have bounced back to win back-to-back contests over Jacksonville (66-64) last Thursday and North Florida (61-49) in the team's previous game on Saturday. Upstate also registered a 71-68 win over Lipscomb for its first league win and is 1-10 away from Spartanburg. Sharmayne Edwards and Brittany Starling lead Upstate with 12.7 and 12.6 points per game, while Starling paces the Spartans with 9.1 rebounds per contest. Upstate is averaging 41.5 rebounds to lead the A-Sun, but its opponent is also averaging 41.0 rebounds per game to rank last in the conference. The Spartans own the second-best turnover margin at +2.6 and average 15.1 turnovers, but are forcing 17.7 from its opponent.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 33rd meeting between the Owls and the Spartans, with KSU holding a 21-11 lead in the all-time series. The Owls won the earlier meeting between the two teams this season with a 72-63 victory in Spartanburg, S.C., on Jan. 10. It was the first time since the 2008-09 season that KSU opened the A-Sun slate with a win as sophomore Deandrea Sawyers registered a game-high 21 points, including three three-pointers and a career-high five assists. Junior Jasmine McAllister also posted her ninth double-double of the season with 17 points, including 14 second-half points and 11 rebounds.
 
All-Time Record: KSU leads, 21-11
Last Meeting: KSU won, 72-63, on Jan. 10, 2015 in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball dropped only its second game at home in the friendly confines of the KSU Convocation Center as the Owls fell to Jacksonville, 78-64, on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 31) to close out the first half of Atlantic Sun Conference action. Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls with 15 points and seven rebounds, while senior Kristina Wells registered her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and three blocks. Sophomore Aareon Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds in the setback, with junior Jasmine McAllister pouring in 12.
 
NEXT UP:
KSU makes a quick turnaround with a trip down to Jacksonville, Fla., next week as the Owls take on Jacksonville on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. ET in historic Swisher Gymnasium.
 
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 14 games for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
 
Offensive Boards
KSU is grabbing 13.8 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.
 
Three-Point Defense
The Owls are holding opponents to just 28.2 percent from behind the three-point line to rank second in the A-Sun and 49th in the nation.
 
Taking Care of the Ball
KSU is averaging just 13.7 turnovers per game, coming in second in the league and 33rd in the country in that category.
 
Sawyers Leading Owls
Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers ranks second in the A-Sun in scoring in overall action (15.3 ppg) and ranks third in conference play (16.7 ppg). She has three 20-point contests in league play.
 
McAllister Doing Work
Junior Jasmine McAllister ranks second in the conference in rebounding and fourth in scoring with 13.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, while also ranking fourth in the A-Sun with a 49.0 percent clip from the field.
 
Super Senior
Senior Kristina Wells joins McAllister in the top-five in the conference for rebounding and ranks fifth with 8.2 boards per contest. She is also the third Owls in the top-20 for scoring and sits 18th with 10.5 points a game. 
 
McAllister on the Boards
McAllister's 10.7 boards ranks 25th in the NCAA, while the junior also leads the A-Sun and ranks 20th in the country with 4.3 offensive rebounds per game. On the season, she has grabbed 235 boards, with 94 coming on the offensive end of the court.
 
Sawyers Beyond on the Arc
Sawyers has connected on the second-most three pointers in the conference in overall action with 50 treys on the season, while also ranking fifth with 19 threes made in league play. She is averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game, which ranks third in the A-Sun in that category.
 
Seeing Double
McAllister leads the conference with 11 double-doubles on 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 37th in the country with a 2.1 ratio with 79 assists and just 37 turnovers in 786 minutes this season, the third-most minutes played in the A-Sun behind junior Karly Frye and Sawyers.
 
Assists
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.

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.