Kennesaw State women’s basketball earns road win over Georgia State

By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor

Behind a game-high 26 points from Jasmine McAllister and 22 points from Deandrea Sawyers, the Kennesaw State women’s basketball team earned a 73-64 road win over Georgia State at GSU Arena in Atlanta on Wednesday night.

The Owls (6-2) have now won two of their last three games while the Panthers (3-2) have dropped their second consecutive contest after starting its season with three straight wins.

McAllister’s 26 points were a season-high for the junior. Overall, the Owls made a season-high 31 field goals in the victory, shooting 46.3 percent from the field. Kristina Wells had a strong night for Kennesaw State, finishing with a game-high 10 rebounds, nine points and team-high seven assists in the win.

Ashlee Cole had a team-high 12 points for the Panthers while Brittany Logan grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Ashley Watson, Kayla Nolan and Gaby Moss each had eight points each for Georgia State. After shooting 45.7 percent in the first half, the Panthers struggled the rest of the contest, making only 33.3 percent of their shots in the second half, finishing the game at 40 percent. Georgia State did outrebound Kennesaw State 41-35 in the loss.

The first half saw Kennesaw State miss its first six shots and Georgia State jump out to a 6-0 lead. However, the Owls recovered from their slow start and a jumper by Sawyers gave them an 18-16 lead at the 9:27 mark. The teams continued to trade baskets throughout the majority of the half before the Panthers closed it out on a 11-6 run to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room.

Cole had a team-high 10 first-half points for Georgia State while Nolan scored eight points along with grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Brittany Logan also had seven rebounds. The Panthers shot 45.7 percent from the field.

McAllister and Sawyers each had a game-high 12 points for Kennesaw State in the first half. McAllister and Wells each had a team-high four rebounds. The Owls shot 43.8 percent from the floor in the first half.

Georgia State outrebounded Kennesaw State 25-14 in the first half.

The Owls started the second half on a 10-4 run and a three-pointer by Sawyers gave them a 45-44 lead with 16:03 left in the second half.

However, the Panthers responded with a 5-2 run of its own on a jumper by Watson and a three-pointer by Makeba Powder to take a 51-47 lead at the 14:00 mark.

The Owls went on a 9-2 run of their own which included three consecutive baskets by McAllister to retake their lead 65-57 with 7:21 left in the game.

Overall, Kennesaw State outscored Georgia State 38-24 in the second half to secure the victory.