Chris Raimondi—Sports Editor
Just two days removed from Karly Frye’s game-winning 3-pointer against Gardner-Webb, Deandrea Sawyers hit a 3-pointer with one second left in regulation to give Kennesaw State women’s basketball team a 61-60 win over the Xavier Musketeers and extended their winning-streak to seven games.
“Christmas came early,” KSU head coach Nitra Perry said. “We talked about that the toughest team was going to win and I thought we went out there and we fought.”
After lead 35-31 at halftime, Xavier made a strong push late in the second half to put the Lady Owls on their heels. KSU held a lead of 11 in the second half before the Musketeers began to climb back. Xavier went on a 12-2 run inside of 10 minutes to reclaim the lead at 52-50 with 6:10 remaining.
A pair of Jasmine McAllister free throws and a Sawyers layup gave the Owls the lead back, briefly, before Xavier scored a jumper in the paint followed by a 3-pointer to go up by six with 2 minutes to go.
Aareon Smith put in a 3-pointer with 1:12 to play to cut Xavier’s lead in half at 60-57. The Lady Owls grabbed a rebound on the Musketeers next possession and took it down court where Frye was fouled on a drive and was able to make it to the free throw line. Frye made 1-2 free throws and KSU remained trailing by two points at 60-58 with 38 seconds to play.
Briana Glover of Xavier missed a layup with 20 seconds left which allowed KSU to grab the rebound and call a timeout. With time running out, Kristina Wells dished the ball out to Sawyers who was open for a clear 3-point attempt. Sawyers buried the shot and gave KSU the 61-60 lead with only one second left on the clock.
Xavier attempted a desperation heave the length of the court, but the attempt fell nowhere near the rim and the Lady Owls were winners 61-60.
After only making one basket, the winning 3-pointer, last game, Frye led KSU in scoring against Xavier with 12 points, Wells chipped in 11 points and Breonna Mosely scored 10 points. Sawyers and McAllister each finished with a line of nine points and two assists, while McAllister nearly had a double-double with 15 rebounds.
The Lady Owls’ next game after the holiday break is Monday Dec.29 against Alabama A&M on the road in Huntsville. Their next home contest is against Florida A&M Friday. Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
