The Sports Inquirer

Release from Kennesaw State Athletics:

Junior Jasmine McAllister registered her Atlantic Sun Conference-leading 13th double-double of the season, but it would not be enough as the Kennesaw State women’s basketball fell to Northern Kentucky, 68-61, on Wednesday (Feb. 25) at the Bank of Kentucky Center.

“I think we made the worst at the worst times,” said head coach Nitra Perry. “That was it. I thought we made some good plays early on. We fought early on and then a couple of threes, missed assignments in transition turned the game. And then we made some untimely turnovers, which were frustrating since we had 21 turnovers on a team that did not press and that was pretty much it in a nutshell.”

With the loss, the Owls (16-12, 5-8) fall into sixth place in the A-Sun standings and are one game out of a tie for fourth place with USC Upstate and Jacksonville, both of whom own a 6-7 conference mark.

McAllister led the Owls with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Karly Frye was two points shy of tying her career-high with 11 points, including three second-half three pointers. Sophomore Aareon Smith joined the duo in double figures with 12 points, including a 2-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.

In a slow-moving first half of action that saw three lead changes and three ties, neither team took more than a four-point edge until the Norse (16-12, 7-6) grabbed a 16-11 advantage with just over seven minutes remaining in the period.

The Owls responded with a 7-2 mini-run over the next three and a half minutes to even score at 18-18, but NKU answered to take a 23-19 lead with 2:11 left on the clock.

KSU then ended the half with eight-straight points, bookended by a pair of Smith three-pointers to head into the break with a 27-23 advantage.

After evening the score at 34-34 with 16 minutes remaining in the second, the Norse sprinted ahead to take a 43-37 lead on five-straight points.

Four-straight free throws from senior Kristina Wells and McAllister trimmed the lead to one at 47-46 with just under eight minutes to go in the game, but a 13-4 run for the home team stalled the KSU momentum.

A Wells traditional three-point play brought the Owls within 62-56 with two minutes left, but a timely Norse trey put the game out of reach as NKU went on for the 68-61 win.

As a team, KSU shot 41.7 percent on 20-of-48 shooting, while connecting on 8-of-21 from beyond the arc. The Owls struggled at the line, converting 13-of-26 freebies for 50 percent.

NKU connected on 21-of-45 from the floor for 46.7 percent, while also making 8-of-18 three pointers and 18-of-23 from the free throw line.

The Owls dished out 14 assists, with Wells leading the way with six. Sophomore Deandrea Sawyers tied a career-high with five helpers on the night.

Both teams were hampered by 21 turnovers, while the Norse won the rebounding battle, 33-28.

Kelley Wiegman led all scorers with 17 points for the Norse, while Melody Doss added 15 points in the win.