Kennesaw, GA - Freshman Stephanie Scearce scored 18 points and fellow first-year gamer Nikki Gurley added 14 points to lead Kennesaw State to an Opening Night victory over cross-city rival Southern Polytechnic, 64-58, Tuesday at the Spec Landrum Centre.

Kennesaw State (1-0) led throughout the second half and built their lead to as much as 11 points before cruising to the win. Southern Polytechnic (2-3) was able to make a run at the Lady Owls after Rachel Eley (9-for-25, 23 points) connected on a short jumper to make the score 40-37 with 13:48 left in the game.

Scearce then stepped up and delivered five consecutive points to build the lead to eight points. Malgorzata Morka dished off a quick bounce pass to Scearce to begin the rally and followed with another assist to Scearce on the next possession. Morka, who only scored four points, had a team high five assists and four rebounds.

The Lady Hornets got the lead to four points, 47-43, with 7:45 left, but Scearce pushed the Lady Owls lead to six with a pair of free-throws. Shavonder Clarke (eight points, ten rebounds) then connected on a follow and then dished to Dominika Mieszkowska (seven points) for a three-pointer on to build the lead to double-digits.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Lady Owls suffered through early game jitters as they played giveaway with the NAIA Lady Hornets for the first five minutes, trailing 9-3. The two teams combined for 11 turnovers in the first eight minutes.

The Lady Owls would go on a 10-2 run to take a 20-13 advantage with 7:15 remaining in the first half, but the Hornets would respond with a 10-0 run of their own, thanks in large part to two three-pointers by Eley, to take a 25-23 lead.

After a Scearce jumper gave the Lady Owls a 29-27 lead, Gurley scored six straight points to help the Owls to a 35-31 lead heading into the locker room.

Neither team shot particularly well from the field. KSU was 19-for-55 (34.5%), while Southern Poly converted only 20-of-67 (29.9%). The Owls had a distinct advantage on the glass, grabbing 51 rebounds compared to only 39 for the Lady Hornets.

Kennesaw State hits the road for the SAC 8 Peach Belt Classic in Greenville, Tennessee this weekend. The Lady Owls will play Tusculum on Friday, November 19 at 8:00 PM, before taking on North Greenville on Saturday, November 20 at 2:00 PM.