Score: Kennesaw State 55, Lipscomb 54
Records: Kennesaw State (6-10, 1-0), Lipscomb (3-13, 0-1)
Key Players: Aareon Smith (23 points); Jasmine McAllister (12 points, 8 rebounds); Clara Young (10 points)
 
Box Score (XML) | Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | Press Conference  

Kennesaw, Ga.  – A last second free throw from junior guard Aareon Smith iced Kennesaw State's hard-fought 55-54 victory over visiting Lipscomb on Saturday (Jan. 9) afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center in its Atlanta Sun Conference opener.

For the Owls (6-10, 1-0), Smith's 23 points –which tied her career high— led the way offensively for head coach Nitra Perry. Senior Jasmine McAllister posted a line of 12 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt sophomore Clara Young chipped in with 10 points on the day.

Before 612 fans, Smith drove hard to the basket with five seconds remaining and got fouled as she went up for the potential game winner. Tied at 54, Smith hit the first of two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to lift Kennesaw State over the Bisons (3-13, 0-1).

However, after missing the second free throw, forward Deandrea Sawyers and McAllister crashed the boards to keep the ball alive which did not allow Lipscomb to have an opportunity to win the game.
The second half was key for KSU, outscoring the Bisons by a 29-19 total in a grind-it-out defensive battle until the end.

The Owls trailed 35-26 to begin the third quarter, but a 21-10 burst in the third was a key turning point in the contest for Kennesaw State.

Smith scored 13 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc over that 10-minute span, allowing Kennesaw State to turn a nine-point deficit into a two-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the Owls' defense held Lipscomb to 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) shooting and 0-of-1 from beyond the arc. The strong effort on the defensive end allowed Kennesaw State to hold onto the lead for the entire quarter, never surrendering the lead and allowed just two ties over the final 10 minutes of the game.

Up Next
Kennesaw State treks to Jacksonville, Florida to take on the University of North Florida and Jacksonville on Jan. 16 and 18, respectively. The Owls will then return to the KSU Convocation Center to take on Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast.  
 
Coach Perry Quote
"We know that on any given day any team can beat anybody. Lipscomb has always been a feisty team that shoots the ball well. We went into the game aware of that and I was proud of our team tonight. We came out in the third and wanted to play our game. It was about us and we got the shots we wanted. We talked a lot about creating second chance points and we had some key offensive rebounds at the end of the game. It was a team effort tonight. We had that will to win and showed some heart tonight, and that was great to see."
 - Kennesaw State Head Coach Nitra Perry
 
Notes
- Aareon Smith tied her career high with 23 points on 9-of-24 shooting from the floor.
- Three Owls tallied double-figure scoring, combing for 45 points on 17 made field goals on the day.
- The Owls improved to 6-2 on their home floor this season and 1-0 in conference play.
- Kennesaw State improved to 4-7 all-time in its conference opening game on a season, dating back to the 2005-06 season.
- KSU outscored Lipscomb 21-10 in the third, which was the biggest scoring quarter by either team in the game.
- KSU totaled 14 points on second chance points tonight to just eight for Lipscomb.
- The Owls also had 13 points off 14 turnovers in the game. 

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