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KENNESAW, Ga. – Behind junior Jasmine McAllister's Atlantic Sun Conference-leading 12th double-double, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team earned a dominating 67-55 win over USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7) at the KSU Convocation Center, making it the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Owls have won 15 games in a season.
 
"I thought it was a great team effort today," said head coach Nitra Perry. "People looked like they were back to themselves, definitely Jasmine McAllister with a double-double today with 19 and 19. I feel like she bounced back and was sealing well today. Kristina Wells always bringing that energy; she is kind of the cog in the wheel. I was happy she was able to get back and get 19 points as well and six boards. Deandrea Sawyers also having 13 points, nine rebounds. I just thought it was a team effort. Aareon Smith came off the bench and really boosted us early and so I was just proud of the energy and the camaraderie. I had not seen that in a long time, so it just made me really proud of them."
 
McAllister was a beast down low, putting up 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, while senior Kristina Wells also poured in 19 points, to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Sophomores Deandrea Sawyers and Aareon Smith joined the pair in double figures with 13 and 10, respectively, while Sawyers evened her career-high with nine rebounds to go with three assists and two blocks.
 
The Owls (15-8, 4-4) used a quick start to build a 21-9 lead midway through the first half that included a 10-0 run over four minutes.
 
Back-to-back layups from Sawyers and McAllister pushed the lead to 25-11 with just under seven minutes to go in the first, before Upstate (11-12, 3-5) scored seven-straight points to cut the score to 25-18.
 
The two teams traded scored to head into the break with the Owls holding a 29-22 advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.
 
The Spartans continued to gain momentum out of intermission to come within 33-30 with an 8-3 mini run to open the second half.
 
KSU responded with a 22-6 run over the seven minutes to build its largest lead of the game at 55-36 with 10 minutes to go in regulation.
 
A 12-2 run from the visitors brought the Spartan deficit to nine points with less than five minutes remaining, but the Owls stayed calm and countered Upstate with key scores down the stretch from McAllister and Wells.
 
Upstate would get as close as 63-55 with 50 seconds remaining, but a three-pointer from junior Karly Frye sealed the 67-55 victory.
 
As a team, KSU connected on 25-of-64 field goals for 39.1 percent, while the Spartans made 17-of-48 shots for 35.4 percent, but drained 5-of-12 three-pointers for a 41.7 percentage from beyond the arc.
 
The Owls dominated the boards, 51-31, including 22 offensive rebounds that KSU turned into 19 second chance points. KSU also controlled the paint, where the Owls outscored the Spartans, 38-16.
 
Brittany Clency led the Spartans with 13 points, while Sharmayne Edwards added 10 points in the loss.
 
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.
 
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.