2015 ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
NO. 5 KENNESAW STATE (17-12, 6-8) AT NO. 4 JACKSONVILLE (11-16, 6-8)
GAME 30 | MARCH 6, 2015 | 7 P.M. ET
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. | SWISHER GYMNASIUM (1,500)
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN3 | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team will make its sixth-straight appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship as the fifth-seeded Owls travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to face fourth-seeded Jacksonville in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. ET.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Friday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Friday's game.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's basketball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsWBB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Jacksonville
The fourth-seeded Dolphins come into Friday's quarterfinal showdown with an overall record of 11-16 and finished in a three-way tie with the Owls and USC Upstate with a 6-8 conference record. JU, which has lost three of its last five contests, owns a 6-6 mark at Swisher Gymnasium and posted a 78-47 setback to Florida Gulf Coast in its regular season finale. The Dolphins are paced by Sherranda Reddick and Briona Brown, who average 14.3 and 12.0 points per game. A-Sun Freshman of the Year Kayla Gordon adds 8.7 points 7.0 rebounds per game, while Kimberly Dawkins pulls down a team-high 7.9 boards per contest. JU averages 62.1 points per game and is giving up 64.1 points to its opponents. The Dolphins are holding its foes to just 36.3 boards per game to rank third in the conference and own the second-best rebounding margin at +2.6. 
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 21st meeting between the Owls and the Dolphins, with JU holding a 13-7 advantage in the all-time series after they swept the Owls in the regular season, including a 73-70 win over KSU in the teams' last meeting on Feb. 12 in Jacksonville. Senior Kristina Wells paced the Owls with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor and an 8-of-10 effort from the charity stripe, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Also joining Wells in double figures were sophomores Deandrea Sawyers and Aareon Smith and redshirt-freshman Kelly Dulkoski each with 12 points in the loss, with Dulkoski draining 4-of-6 from long range.
 
All-Time Record: JU leads, 13-7
Last Meeting: JU won, 73-70, on Feb. 12, 2015 in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
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. 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.
 
NEXT UP:
The winner of the Kennesaw State-Jacksonville contest will advance to the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship semifinals on Wednesday, March 11 and will face the winner of top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast versus eighth-seeded North Florida, with the highest seeded team hosting the game.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Winningest KSU Season in Division I Era
With the Owls' Senior Day victory over Lipscomb last Saturday, KSU earned its 17th win of the season, which makes the 2014-15 season the winningest season in the Division I era for KSU.
 
A-Sun Tournament History
KSU owns a 1-5 record in the A-Sun Championship in the five years it has been eligible and has never faced JU in the annual conference tournament. The Owls are 1-2 as the fifth seed with their only win in the event coming as the fifth seed in a 51-49 win over fourth-seeded North Florida in 2012.
 
Last Year in the A-Sun Championship
The seventh-seeded Owls put forth a valiant effort against second-seeded Stetson in last season's A-Sun Championship first round, but eventually fell 73-56 in Deland, Fla., on March 11, 2014.
 
Owls Owning the Glass
KSU has outrebounded its opponents on 18 occasions this season and leads the conference with a +3.5 rebounding margin in overall action and a +5.1 margin in league play.
 
2015 A-Sun Newcomer of the Year
Junior Jasmine McAllister was a unanimous selection for 2015 A-Sun Newcomer of the Year, while also earning second-team all-conference accolades after leading the Owls in scoring and rebounding in her first season in the Black and Gold.
 
Fourth Superlative Honor in Program History
McAllister's selection is the fourth overall superlative honor KSU has collected during its time in the A-Sun after Britteny Henderson and Greteya Kelley earned Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2008 and Taylor Mills nabbed Freshman of the Year accolades in 2012.
 
A-Sun Weekly Honors
The Owls have collected nine weekly honors from the A-Sun Conference this season, with McAllister tying the conference record with six Newcomer of the Week honors this season. Junior Karly Frye has also earned Newcomer of the Week honors, while senior Kristina Wells and sophomore Deandrea Sawyers were also been tabbed Player of the Week in 2014-15.
 
A-Sun Career Points Leader
Wells is the A-Sun Conference active career points leader and is the only current player that has at least 1,350 points, 840 rebounds, 320 assists and 195 steals.
 
Scoring Sawyers
Sawyers is the Owls's second-leading scorer and ranks 10th in the A-Sun in overall action with 13.5 points per game and has 21 double digit games this season, including five 20-point or more contests in 2014-15.
 
Owls on the Boards
The Owls have two players in the top five in rebounding in both overall and conference action in McAllister and Wells. McAllister ranks second in both categories with 10.4 boards per game in overall play and 9.5 in league play. Wells ranks fourth with 8.5 boards in overall play and has upped her average in A-Sun action with 8.9 boards to sit third.
 
McAllister's Scoring
McAllister adds 13.6 points per game in overall action to rank ninth in the A-Sun, while also ranking third and 44th in the NCAA with a 51.1 field goal percentage.
 
Wells Gives Owls Triple Threat
Wells is also the third Owl averaging double figures and sits in the top-20 for scoring at 18th with 11.6 points a game. 
 
McAllister in the Rankings
McAllister's 10.4 boards per game ranks 29th in the NCAA, while the junior also leads the A-Sun and ranks 18th in the country with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game.
 
Double-Doubles
McAllister is the co-leader in the conference with 14 double-doubles on the season and ranks 21st in the NCAA in that category.
 
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.