GAME NOTES |
LIVE STATS |
LIVE AUDIO
GAME No. 2 | NOV. 13, 2012
KENNESAW STATE AT No. 20 GEORGIA TECH | 7:00 P.M.
ATLANTA, GA. | McCAMISH PAVILION (8,600)
THE GAME:
Kennesaw State looks to rebound after a season opening loss at Middle Tennessee State, 87-45, in the first round of the Preseason WNIT. Georgia Tech comes in ranked No. 20 in the nation, but did suffer a loss to start off the year, dropping to Tennessee at home, 71-54, on Sunday afternoon.
The game will take place at the newly opened McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech and will see the Owls take on their second straight 2011-12 NCAA Tournament team at 7 p.m. ET.
COVERAGE
AUDIO: Play-by-play will be available from Kennesaw State starting at 6:50 p.m. with Ben Poplin narrating the action from courtside. The stream is available online and is free of charge for listeners.
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from ramblinwreck.com at the start of the game.
THE OPPONENT
Georgia Tech is ranked at No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, respectively. The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a banner year after making it all the way to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual champion Baylor to end the season.
Junior guard Tyuanna Marshall leads a seasoned squad in both points and rebounds after putting in 18 during the loss to the Volunteers with eight boards.
The Yellow Jackets are looking to make their seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance this season and will head to San Juan, Puerto Rico, after a Nov. 18, home contest against Marquette.
THE SERIES
Georgia Tech holds the all-time series record over the Owls, 6-0, after winning last year’s meeting 94-51 on Nov. 22, 2011. The two schools have played every season since 2005-06 with the closest margin being a 79-60 win for Georgia Tech on Nov. 17, 2010.
LAST OUTING
Sophomore guard
Bria Young (Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS) set a new career high with 15 points on five three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome costly turnovers as the Owls fell in their season opener, 87-45, to Middle Tennessee State in the WNIT opening round. Young (Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS) connected on five of her seven attempts as the Owls, now 0-1 on the young season, shot 51.4-percent from the field as a team, going 18-for-35.
The Owls gave up 38 turnovers during the game, leading to 36 Blue Raider points.
Kristina Wells (Douglasville, Ga./Douglas County HS) led the team with nine rebounds, eight of which were of the defensive variety, as the Owls took the advantage in that category, 23-18. Wells also added four assists and four steals to her stat line.
Transfer junior
Chantel Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Colorado State) was the only other Owl in double-figures scoring with her 14 points, going 7-of-14 from the field.
THE NUMBERS
Through just one game, the Owls are shooting an Atlantic Sun Conference high 51-percent from the field after going 18-for-35 last Friday. KSU is also shooting an unprecedented 63-percent from beyond the arc after Young’s 5-for-7 performance.
The Owls are still without a blocked shot after one contest. Junior center
Christine Wylie (Ballarat, Australia/Ballarat HS) had seven during the team’s tune-up game against Southern Polytechnic, but is still looking for her first in the regular season.
Kennedy was the only player on the court at Middle Tennessee to play in all 40 minutes. Wells was the closest to Kennedy after seeing 39 minutes of action.
NEXT UP
KSU will be back in the WNIT this weekend as the team heads to Morehead, Ky., to face off against Morehead State in the second round consolation game on Nov. 17. The Eagles lost to Illinois State, 62-45, in their opening round contest.
The Owls will remain in Morehead, Ky., to take on either Davidson or Northern Illinois on Nov. 18.
NEWS AND NOTES
Back-to-back Tourney Teams
The Owls are starting off the year with back-to-back games against 2011-12 NCAA Tournament teams. Middle Tennessee State went in as the No. 10 seed, losing in the first round to No. 7 Vanderbilt while Georgia Tech made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual champ Baylor.
Road Warriors
KSU continues the grueling road schedule, playing its first four and nine of its first 10 contests away from the KSU Convocation Center. The first chance to see the Owls at home will be on Nov. 21, when the Owls host Sunbelt Conference foe Troy.
Freshmen Stepping Up
Freshmen
Shadelly Guzman (Miami, Fla./Monsignor E. Pace HS) and
Chelsea Mason (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West HS) will have an immediate impact on the KSU roster. Guzman will see playing time at the point guard position, where she picked up two assists at Middle Tennessee, while Mason added in five points and three rebounds.
Young on Fire
Young has been the leading scorer for the Owls thus far, putting in five three-pointers on Friday and 17 total points during the team’s exhibition win over Southern Poly. The sophomore shattered her previous career high of four points with her 15 against the Blue Raiders.
Wells in the A-Sun
Wells was the only sophomore to land a spot on the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Team after averaging 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women’s basketball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsWBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
