GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO
GAME NO. 13 | DEC. 31, 2012
KENNESAW STATE VS FLORIDA GULF COAST | 2:30 P.M. ET
KENNESAW, Ga. | KSU CONVOCATION CENTER (4,600)
THE GAME:
The 4-8 Kennesaw State women’s basketball team starts off Atlantic Sun Conference play with a bang this Monday, Dec. 31, hosting Florida Gulf Coast at 2:30 p.m. ET in what will be a six day, three conference match stretch for the Owls.
The black and gold are enjoying an offensive upswing and will look to topple the best defense in the A-Sun against the rolling Eagles of FGCU.
In what will be the first New Year’s Eve game in program history, fans can receive just $3 admission to watch the Owls in the KSU Convocation Center where the team is 2-1 this season.
THE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO: A-Sun Television will have a live stream of Friday’s game from Kennesaw, Ga., starting at 2:30 p.m.
AUDIO: Play-by-play will be available from Kennesaw State with Ben Poplin narrating the action from courtside.
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of the game.
THE OPPONENT
7-5 Florida Gulf Coast comes into the Convocation Center on a high note, having defeated Southeastern Conference opponent LSU 76-70 in its last outing and are now ranked No. 12 in CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Poll.
League leading scorer Sarah Hansen had 30 points during the win over the Tigers and is now averaging 17.9 per game for the second place Eagles.
THE SERIES
The all-time series record belongs to the Eagles, 9-2, after having won all three meetings between the two schools last season.
During the last clash on March 2, 2012, Florida Gulf Coast took a 76-53 win over the Owls to knock KSU out of the Atlantic Sun Conference Postseason Tournament in Macon, Ga.
Kristina Wells (Douglasville, Ga./Douglas County HS) led the way with 16 points with
Sametria Gideon (Madison, Ala./Bob Jones HS) right behind with 15 of her own.
LAST OUTING
In the non-conference finale for the Kennesaw State women’s basketball team it was Big South opponent Gardner Webb that came out on top, 68-59, handing the Owls their first loss of the season at the KSU Convocation Center on Friday, Dec. 28.
Gideon, playing in her 100
th career game for the now 4-8 Owls, made it back-to-back double-doubles and six on the season with a 14 point, 12 rebound effort while sophomore
Wells put in 18 points on a 7-of-8 night shooting from the field.
The Owls had four players score in double-figures including Wells with a team high 18, 16 from
Chelsea Mason (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West HS), 14 from Gideon and 10 from
Ashley Holliday (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann Academy) with six threes in the game, four from Mason and two from Holliday.
Defensively, the Owls pulled in 22 rebounds and seven steals, four by Wells, and a pair of blocks from Gideon.
THE NUMBERS
Gideon played her 100
th game in a Kennesaw State uniform against Gardner Webb, the first Owl to do so since joining Division I. Holliday will soon join her fellow senior, having played in 96.
The three-point defense of KSU is the second best in the A-Sun, holding opponents to just a .272 success rate.
The Owls are committing just 11.6 fouls per game, continuing their run as one of the cleanest teams in the nations.
NEXT UP
The Owls will wrap-up their five game home stand this week, hosting Stetson on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 2:30 p.m. before the big rivalry showdown against Mercer on Jan. 5, at 5:30 p.m. for the ESPN3 featured game.
NEWS AND NOTES
Holliday’s Scoring Streak
Holliday has now scored in double-figures in her last four outings for head coach
Nitra Perry after putting in 10 against Gardner Webb in her last outing. In the last four games alone, Holliday is averaging 18 points per contest with a .433 field goal percentage from beyond the arc and 13 made three-pointers. For the season, the senior is averaging 10.7 points per game with a team-high 21 triples, the second most in the conference.
Home Court Advantage
The Owls are now 2-1 at the KSU Convocation Center and are playing their best basketball on their home floor. The black and gold are outscoring their opponents by four points on average and are outrebounding the competition by four boards on average as well. Individually, Gideon is averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds with a field goal percentage of .563 in Kennesaw, Ga.
Double-Double Machine
Gideon continues to average a double-double on the year with 11.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. The senior has a conference-high six double-doubles this season and has had eight games with either double-digit rebounds or points. Nationally, Gideon is in the top 50 in total double-doubles.
Rebounding Well
The Owls now have three players in the top 10 in the Atlantic Sun in the rebounding category including Gideon at No. 1 with 10.9 rebounds per game,
Chantel Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Colorado State) at No. 7 with 7.7 rebounds per game and Wells at No. 10 with 6.5 rebounds per game.
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.
