KENNESAW, Ga. – Deandrea Sawyers scored a career-high 26 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor to lead the Kennesaw State University women's basketball team to a 66-58 victory over Northern Kentucky University in Atlantic Sun Conference action at the KSU Convocation Center on Wednesday evening.
 
Sawyers knocked down four of her eight attempts from behind the 3-point arc and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Kennesaw State, which improved to 13-4 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Sun.  The sophomore guard went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line, and she dished out two assists.
 
Kelly Dulkoski finished with 12 points on 4-for-6 from 3-point territory off the bench for the Owls, while Jasmine McAllister rounded out the double-figure scorers with an 11-point effort.
 
NKU, which fell to 10-7 on the year and 1-1 in the Atlantic Sun, jumped out to the early lead on four-straight points from Christine Roush.  After opening the game's scoring on a layup, she stole the ball on the first Kennesaw State possession and hit a driving layup for a 4-0 advantage less than one minute into the contest. 
 
Rianna Gayheart and Kasey Uetrecht knocked down long-range shots to push the NKU lead to 10-2 with 12:01 left in the first half.  Three Owls free throws cut into the Norse advantage before a conventional three-point play from Melody Doss made it a 13-5 ballgame at the 8:31 mark.
 
After limiting Kennesaw State to just 1-for-8 through the first 12 minutes of the game, back-to-back 3-point field goals by Sawyers pulled the Owls to within 13-11 one minute later.  Sawyers later tied the game at 15-all with 5:34 remaining, but a six-point run by Kelley Wiegman regained the NKU lead at 21-15 with just under four minutes left in the half.
 
The Norse maintained the six-point advantage until the halftime break, taking a 25-19 lead into the locker room.  NKU shot 37.0 percent (10-for-27) in the opening stanza while holding Kennesaw State to 30.0 percent (6-for-20).
 
Roush opened the second half the same way she began the first with a layup to give NKU a 27-19 lead, but the Norse committed three-straight turnovers and Kennesaw State pulled to within two (27-25) with 17:08 remaining.  Uetrecht stopped the Owls run with her second 3-pointer of the game, extending the Norse lead to 30-25 at the 16:18 mark.
 
With the Norse holding a 35-32 advantage, Karly Frye and Dulkoski hit back-to-back treys to give Kennesaw State its first lead of the game at 38-37 with 12:04 remaining in the second half.
 
The two teams traded baskets before a pair of free throws from Shar'Rae Davis and conventional three-point play by Gayheart gave NKU a 44-40 advantage with 9:37 on the clock.  Kennesaw State answered with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-point field goals from Dulkoski, for its own four-point (48-44) lead with under eight minutes left to play.
 
The Norse pulled to within one (51-50) on a Faith Sanders layup, but the Owls answered with a 10-0 spurt led by four points from Kristina Wells to take a 61-50 advantage with 1:53 on the clock. 
 
Uetrecht answered with a 3-pointer on the other end of the court, and Gayheart knocked down her second trey of the game to pull NKU to within 62-56 with just over one minute left in the game.  But, that was as close as the Norse could get as the Owls held on for the victory.
 
Kennesaw State shot 50.0 percent (12-for-24) from the field in the second half to finish at 40.9 percent for the game, and the Owls outrebounded NKU by a slight 33-30 margin.  Kennesaw State limited NKU to an 11-for-29 (.379) shooting in the second half.
 
Wells added nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and a game-high six assists for Kennesaw State, which dished out 13 assists as a team. 
 
Gayheart led the NKU offense with 13 points and two assists, while Roush added 12 points, two assists and two steals.  Uetrecht finished with a career-high nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from long range, and Melody Doss and Kaitlyn Gerrety each pulled down a team-high six rebounds each for the Norse.
 
NKU returns to The Bank of Kentucky Center on Saturday as the Norse welcome South Carolina Upstate at 7 p.m.  It will be Shoot Around Saturday where girls through eighth grade and boys through sixth grade can take the court to take a few shots at various baskets around the court after the game.  Players will also be available at the conclusion of the shoot around period for autographs.