The KSU women’s basketball team’s first ever trip to NJIT was nothing short of a thriller as the Owls downed the Highlanders 82-77 in double overtime on Saturday.
The meeting marked the Owls’ (9-14, 4-4) first ever trip to Newark, New Jersey, as the Highlanders (4-19, 1-7) are in the midst of their inaugural season in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Senior Jasmine McAllister led the Owls offensively with 20 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Allison Johnson accounted for 16 points and 13 boards for her second double-double of the season. Junior Deandrea Sawyers and redshirt-sophomore Kelly Dulkoski rounded out the Owls in double digits, each recording 14 points.
“Allison is settling in and she is very aggressive,” Kennesaw State head coach Nitra Perry told KSUOwls.com. “She found a way to get it down and was relentless down low. We always want to win inside-out. I felt like everyone contributed tonight and it was good to see.”
The Owls led 50-41 at the 8:50 mark in the fourth quarter following a McAllister layup. NJIT responded with an 11-2 run to knot the game up at 52-apiece with 2:24 to go in the quarter. Sawyers made a layup to put the Owls back on top, 54-52, with 75 seconds remaining.
The lead was short lived, however, as a Sawyers’ foul sent NJIT’s Kelly Guarino to the free-throw line with 59 seconds to go. Guarino knocked down both shots, tying the game once again at 54-54.
The Highlanders found themselves in position to win the game, but Olivia Dudley missed from three-point range with one second remaining and forced overtime.
KSU drew first blood in overtime as Dulkoski knocked down a jump shot to give the Owls a 56-54 advantage. Two minutes later, Dulkoski hit a three-pointer to put KSU up 63-58 with 2:38 remaining. NJIT made it a one-point game before McAllister’s made free throws extended the Owl lead to 65-62 with a minute left.
Johnson drove in the paint for layup with 29 seconds left to give the Owls a three-point lead, but NJIT responded quickly with a Kelly Guarino three pointer to tie the game 67-67 with 23 seconds to go.
Highlander Olivia Dudley blocked two Aaeron Smith shots — a layup and a jumper — in the final five seconds to force a second overtime.
NJIT clung to a one-point lead in double overtime when Clara Young stole the ball and knocked down a three-pointer to put the Owls up 75-73 in what would be the final lead change in the game.
The difference maker in the final period was the execution from the charity stripe, with the Owls going 7-8 on free throws. KSU finished 21-28 from the free-throw line for the game.
“We made our free throws down the stretch,” Perry told KSUOwls.com. “Allison Johnson and Clara Young hit some big shots at the end, and we really played like a team today. I thought we had some good defensive stops and we just gutted it out tonight.”
KSU fell down 13-8 in the opening quarter before closing out with a 7-0 run to take a 15-13 lead into the second.
The Owls opened up a 6-point lead with a Dulkoski three at the 7:51 mark, but the Highlanders fought back and tied the game at 27-apiece with 2:09 left. NJIT led 32-30 at the half.
Momentum began to swing in favor of the Owls in the third quarter. After surrendering the first points, KSU strung together a 14-4 run to open up a 46-38 lead with 41 seconds left. Karly Frye beat the buzzer with a jump shot to give the Owls a 48-41 advantage after three quarters.
Kennesaw State will look to carry the momentum into next week as they return to the Convocation Center for the first of three home games in six days. The Owls will take on USC Upstate on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
