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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team jumped out to an early lead over the visiting Eagles, riding a four-goal adavantage at halftime to a 13-9 victory against Winthrop Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

The Owls doled out a season-high eight assists in the game thanks to a career-high three dimes from Anna Giulitto and two from Siena Gore, her first of the year.

How it Happened: After a goal from Marissa Gore got the Owls (3-3) started less than a minute in, KSU took a 3-0 advantage at the 26:55 mark behind goals from Siena Gore and Abby Squires. Winthrop (0-7) finally broke through with 21:27 still to play, pulling to within one, 4-3, 10 minutes later following back-to-back goals in less than a minute.

The Owls regained their cushion in the final 10 minutes, closing out the half on a 3-0 run with goals from Izzy Palermo, Izzy Bertolani and Squires to lead 7-3.

KSU out-drew Winthrop 8-3 in the first half, recording 15 shots to the Eagles' six.

It was another quick start to open the second half as Siena Gore took the opening draw to the house, scoring just 10 seconds into the period. KSU netted three goals in the opening minute of the second half to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

After the hectic start both teams settled in for a back-and-forth period as the Owls and Eagles traded goals with KSU maintaining its five-goal cushion throughout most of the half. It wasn't until the final minute when Winthrop would cut the lead to four, recording two goals in quick succession to earn the final score of 13-9.

Notes: Siena Gore finished the game with four goals and two assists for a team-high six points, her third game this year with six points and fifth with at least three goals … Abby Squires recorded her first hat trick of the season … Heidi Curtis logged a career-high three caused turnovers … KSU recorded 12 caused turnovers, their second straight game finishing in double-figures … the Owls out-drew Winthrop 15-8 in the game with Siena Gore recording six followed by Squires with four … both Marissa Gore and Izzy Palermo finished with two goals each … Alex Bunn recorded the win between the pipes with six saves.

Quotes: Head Coach Laura Maness
On getting the win…
"The girls worked really hard to make sure to bounce back off of Mercer and come into this game fully focused and ready to compete. We knew Winthrop has been really competitive with a lot of teams and that they are capable of putting up double-digit scoring in a lot of their games, so we really wanted to limit their opportunities."

On the quick scoring…
"I think that we were kind of streaky with our scoring. I do like how we started; I do like how we came out in the second half with a man-up opportunity right out of the gate in the second half. I think that where we need to work is actually learning how to play with intensity for 60 minutes. That's something that we need to make sure that we're keeping that fire in us for the whole game."

On KSU's ball movement…
"Ball movement was something we focused on a lot after Mercer. Both teams were similar in that they both played zones, so we really wanted to get their defenders shifting around before we took a scoring opportunity. I feel like that was much improved from our Mercer game so that was really good."

Up Next: The Owls close out their seven-game homestand to open the year next Wednesday (Mar. 11), hosting Vermont at 12:30 p.m.