ATLANTA - Georgia State was upset by the wise Owls from Kennesaw State 73-64. GSU was 3-1 as a result of a defense that averaged 13.3 steals and forced 24 turnovers a game. Tonight, the wise Owls, now 5-2, turned the ball over just seven times and allowed two steals in rallying in the second half for the first win over GSU in Kennesaw State's history.

Georgia State and Kennesaw State traded leads 11 times with six ties. The host Panthers started quick with an 8-0 lead, led by nine points at 14-5, and rallied to take a 40-35 lead into halftime.

GSU led 44-37 one minute into the second half, but an 8-0 KSU run was capped by a 3-pointer by Deandra Sawyers for a 45-44 KSU advantage. Georgia State regained the momentum and was up 55-53 with 12 minutes to go. KSU got a trey from Aareon Smith to start a crucial 9-0 run that gave the Owls a 62-55 advantage at 8:30.

GSU closed to 65-59 at 7:13, but then went more than five minutes without making a basket and KSU pulled away for the win.

What made the difference in the turnovers and steals?

• KSU guard Kristina Wells had seven assists and no turnovers
• KSU guard Karly Frye has six assists and just one turnover
• KSU guard Aareon Smith had three assists and no turnovers
• GSU, who got 103 points off turnovers in the first four games, got just 4 points off turnovers tonight in the key stat of the game.
• KSU converted 16 points off GSU turnovers.

Kennesaw State worked the ball inside and scored 42 points in the paint with 18 assists on 31 baskets made. Forward Jasmine McAllister shot 11 of 16 for 26 points, while Deandra Sawyers hit 9 of 17 for 22 points to lead the Owls. For KSU, it was a second win over a Sun Belt school as the Owls beat Georgia Southern by 21 points earlier.

Georgia State used its full roster and substitution patterns with 34 points coming from the bench. Ashlee Cole's 12 points off the bench led the team, with Makeba Ponder scoring nine coming in reserve. Senior center Brittany Logan had 10 rebounds. Kayla Nolan added nine rebounds and eight points. Georgia State held a 41-35 rebound advantage with 17 offensive rebounds.

The second-half GSU drought included:

• 33.3 percent on 10 of 30 second-half shots
• 3 of 9 from the free throw line in the second half
• Nine consecutive missed shots down the stretch from 7:18 to 2:05

Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener was blunt with her assessment: "We were not very good defensively and it wasn't our usual standard," she started. "We probably didn't give our best effort for the full 40 minutes. We had a hard time scoring tonight no matter where we shot it from. Nothing seemed to fall for us tonight. Kennesaw State deserved to win with their performance tonight."

Georgia State led the all-time series 6-0 as the streak ended with tonight's loss. GSU returns to action Sunday at Morehead State.