UNION, N.J. (12/2/13) – Simone Smith had Kean University's first double-double of the season and Jaquetta Owens led all scorers with 19 as the women's basketball team topped Stevens Institute of Technology 77-67 on Monday night. The Cougars had five players in double figures in their balanced attack and are now 4-2 on the year.

For Kean's first basket, AnnaRose Pierre stripped a Stevens player on the defensive end, went coast-to-coast on a layup and an and-1 play that sparked a 7-0 run for the Cougars, who had conceded the game's first four points.

With the game tied at nine, Essence Casey and Owens hit back-to-back layups to put Kean back up by four. The game was tied again before Owens scored five-consecutive points to open up the Kean lead once more.

At the seven-minute mark, Pierre scored hit another layup while being fouled and eventually put Kean up by six. With three minutes to go, Casey's three-point attempt hit nothing but net to give Kean its largest lead of the half at 12. On the next possession, Pierre had an emphatic block of a Duck layup attempt that elicited a roar of approval from the Harwood crowd.

Kean finished the first half up 39-31. The Cougars shot 45 percent from the field in the first period and led for 76 percent of the contest.

The Cougars opened the second half on a 6-0 run in the first two minutes, giving Kean its new largest lead of the night and forcing the Ducks to call timeout. Casey, Smith and Pierre hit the layups as the run reached 10-0 before coming to an end.

At 15:00, Jazmine Davis had a lay-in that made the Cougar lead 20 points. With all the layups being scored, the hosts were dominating fastbreak points 12-0 and points in the paint 38-16.

With five minutes to go, the Ducks trimmed the lead down to 10 as the Cougars were forced into a few turnovers that Stevens converted into layups. The teams traded baskets and free throws as Stevens was forced to foul in the endgame and Kean hung on for the solid win over the previously 5-1 Ducks. Owens, Smith (pictured left), Pierre, Casey and Stephanie Carlone all reached double figures for the Cougars.

Kean will resume NJAC play on Wednesday night when the team travels to TCNJ for a 6 p.m. game.