Score: Kennesaw State 56, Stetson 74
Records: No. 5 Kennesaw State (11-19, 6-8), No. 4 Stetson (19-10, 9-5)
Key Players: Aareon Smith (15 points); Deandrea Sawyers (9 points, 7 rebounds); Clara Young (7 points, 4 rebounds); Jasmine McAllister (9 points, 8 rebounds)

Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery

DELAND, Fla.  – The fifth-seeded Kennesaw State Owls could not overcome a 28-point third quarter from the fourth-seeded Stetson Hatters in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Quarterfinals at Edmunds Center, falling 74-56 on Friday (March 4) evening.

The Owls were paced offensively by Aareon Smith (15 points), Deandrea Sawyers (nine points, seven rebounds), Clara Young (seven points, four rebounds) and Jasmine McAllister (nine points, eight rebounds)

The Owls used balanced scoring and stifling defense to jump out to a 9-6 advantage after the first 10 minutes of action. Kennesaw State had four players score in the quarter, including a key 3-pointer from Young to stretch the lead to 7-0.

In the first, KSU held the Hatters to 3-of-10 shooting from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc to keep the Hatters off the scoreboard for the first six minutes into the contest.

In a back-and-forth first half, the second quarter saw seven lead changes between the two teams in the first round of the A-Sun Championships. Stetson, in fact, responded to KSU's opening quarter by outscoring the Owls 21-16 in the frame.

For the first half, the Owls shot 41.7 (10-for-24) percent and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. Sawyers, who totaled a career-high 13 rebounds and a season-high 17 points against Stetson on Feb. 22, totaled seven points and two boards to led Kennesaw State in the first half.

Seven of the eight Kennesaw State players that saw action in the first half scored, and helped outrebound Stetson 18-11 in the first half.

However, Stetson outscored the Owls 47-31 in the second half, including a 28-5 advantage in the third quarter to pull away and eventually advancing to the second round.

KSU, for the game, shot 20-for-58 (34.5 percent) overall from the floor and 7-of-21 from beyond the arc. The Owls also made 9-of-12 from the free throw line and totaled 11 assists on the night,

Coach Perry Quote
"Overall, it was a growing season. We had some bright spots throughout the season and we were close in a lot games. We got to grow from this and it's a maturity thing. We won the first and fourth quarter, but the third quarter was lost. Anytime you give up 28 points in a quarter is something you don't want to do. We did a great job in the fourth and we played competitive except the third quarter. We have to play for a full 40 minutes. We wanted the ball to move the ball quickly and we had 11 assists on 20 field goals. Aareon Smith came on late for us tonight and she played some key minutes and I was proud of her."
 - Kennesaw State Head Coach Nitra Perry

Notes
- Friday's contest marked the 25th meeting all-time between the two teams.
- Jasmine McAllister was named to the Second Team All-Conference after averaging 10.4 PPG & 9.0 RPG for Owls this season. She had nine double-doubles.
- Allison Johnson made the All-Freshman Atlantic Sun Conference team this season, averaging 4.5 points per game and 5.2 rebounds.
- Deandrea Sawyers surpassed the 1,000 career point mark scoring 11 vs. Lipscomb. She has scored in double figures in three of her last five games to end the season.
- The Owls came off their best three-point shooting games of the year. They have knocked down 11 in back-to-back games to close out regular season.

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.