- First Year of Competition: 1982-83
- Head Coach: Nitra Perry
- Assistant Coaches: Stacey Franklin, Dee Bell, Tiffany Listenbee
- All-Americans: 10
- A-Sun All-Conference Honorees: 10
- A-Sun Player of the Week Awards: 8
- A-Sun All-Academic Honors: 41
- All A-Sun: 4
- A-Sun All-Freshman: 5
- 2012 A-Sun Freshman of the Year: Taylor Mills
A new era of Lady Owls basketball began on April 25, 2012, when Nitra Perry was named as the sixth head coach in program history. A former standout player at Mississippi State, Bell comes to Kennesaw after gaining experience as an assistant and associate head coach at Toledo, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech. Her enthusiasm, knowledge of the game and familiarity with the south has generated an undeniable buzz around the program in her short period of time in Black and Gold.
Perry inherits a program that was led for 17 years by Colby Tilley guided players to incredible success at every level his that his squads competed at before his retirement following the 2011-12 season. Since joining the Division I ranks in the Fall of 2005, the Lady Owls have had an Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year (Britteny Henderson) A-Sun Freshman of the Year (Taylor Mills), and A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year (Greteya Kelley).
During the 2011-12 season, the Lady Owls went on to earn a No. 5 seed in the A-Sun Tournament and qualified for the tournament in their consecutive year since becoming eligible for Division I postseason play for the 2009-10 campaign. Freshmen Taylor Mills and Kristina Wells were also honored at the end of the regular-season, as Mills was named the A-Sun Freshman of the Year, while Wells earned All-Freshman honors.
KSU made program history on Mar. 1 as it took home its first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament victory in thrilling fashion, with a 51-49 comeback win over North Florida. The Lady Owls closed the game on a 14-4 run as Mills showed why she was chosen as the Freshman of the Year scoring 10 of KSU’s final 14 points.
Unfortunately, Kennesaw State’s season came to an end in the semifinals as it ran into a hot Florida Gulf Coast team who went on to earn a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even with the loss, KSU finished with 14 overall wins, which are the most wins in a season since the 2008-09 season.
During Kennesaw State’s NCAA Division II days, the Lady Owls reached the Elite Eight, winning 30 games during the 1996-97 season. 10 different student-athletes achieved All-American status during the program’s 10 years at that level.
With top young talent and five seniors in tow, Kennesaw State believes they have the talent to challenge for an Atlantic Sun Conference Championship next year and in the years to come. The vow has been made that no team will outwork the Lady Owls on and off the basketball court.
