By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - After a week off, Kennesaw State's women's basketball team will close out the 2010 portion of their schedule with a contest at Jacksonville State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. EST with live audio available on KSUOwls.com beginning five minutes prior to the scheduled tip.
The Lady Owls (3-6) won a thrilling, 65-63, contest last Tuesday at the KSU Convocation Center over Chattanooga. Angie Smith hit the game-winning jumper with 2.7 seconds to go in the overtime session. Smith scored a team-high 17 points, while Tamasha Bolden, who hit the jumper as time expired in regulation to knot the score, added 15 in the victory.
Smith will look across the court and see a familiar face wearing a Jacksonville State uniform, as former high school teammate Danielle Beneby plays for the Gamecocks. The pair went to South Broward High in Ft. Lauderdale. The former teammates are helping to pace their respective teams, as Smith is averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game, while Beneby is second on the JSU squad with 8.5 points per game.
Tuesday's contest against JSU will be the final non-conference game for the Lady Owls until their March 13 contest at North Carolina. Against non-Atlantic Coast Conference foes this season, KSU is 3-1.
Jacksonville State owns an 8-5 advantage in the all-time series, but KSU has closed the gap, winning the last three meetings. A, 74-70, overtime win Nov. 9, 2007 sparked KSU to a three-game winning streak in the series. In the win last season for the Lady Owls, Smith and Sametria Gideon were two of four Lady Owls in double-figures, pacing KSU to a 66-51 win.
Following Tuesday's contest, KSU will return to action Jan. 3, 2011 against USC Upstate in an Atlantic Sun Conference contest. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
