By: By Libby Knight
KENNESAW STATE (4-11, 2-2) VS FLORIDA GULF COAST (9-6, 3-0)
GAME 16 | JANUARY 16, 2014
KENNESAW, Ga. | KSU CONVOCATION CENTER (4,600)
TV: ESPN3.COM
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | TICKETS | PROMOTIONS | TWITTER
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the KSU Convocation Center for a date with 2013 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tip is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3.
The Owls are 4-11 on the season and sit in fifth in A-Sun standings with a 2-2 record, while the Eagles are second in league standings at 3-0 and are 9-6 in 2013-14.
For Thursday's contest, the first 250 fans in attendance will receive a free Owl license plate holder.
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Thursday's game.
LIVE VIDEO: Live video of Thursday's game will be provided by ESPN3, with Nathan McCreary and Theresa Gernatt on the call. Fans can follow the link via KSUOwls.com at the start of the contest.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's basketball team on Twitter @
KSUOwlsWBB to receive updates throughout the game.
THE OPPONENT:
Florida Gulf Coast
The Eagles enter Thursday's contest as winners of the last 39 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season contests, including earning back-to-back regular season championships. FGCU owns a 9-6 overall record and is 3-0 in league play this season after posting wins over Stetson, East Tennessee State and USC Upstate. The Eagles own a balanced attack with three players averaging double figures, led by Reigning A-Sun Player of the Year Sarah Hansen's 14 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
THE SERIES:
This will be the 15th all-time meeting between the Owls and the Eagles, with FGCU holding a 12-2 advantage over KSU after taking both regular season contests a season, as well as a 73-47 victory in the first round of the 2013 A-Sun Conference Tournament on March 6, 2013. Senior
Sametria Gideon ended her career with the Owls by earning her 15th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds that included 17 points and 10 rebounds in the second half alone.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team snapped its two-game Atlantic Sun Conference win streak as the Owls fell to Northern Kentucky, 79-51, on Saturday night (Jan 11.) at The Bank of Kentucky Center. For the third-straight game, freshman guard
Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls with 17 points, including four three-pointers.
NEXT UP:
The Owls continue their home stand with a 2 p.m. contest against Stetson on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the KSU Convocation Center.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Wells Registers First-Ever Triple-Double
After threatening for most of the season, junior guard
Kristina Wells registered the first triple-double in program history since KSU moved to Division I with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists at Lipscomb.
Sawyers From Beyond the Arc
Freshman guard
Deandrea Sawyers has been prolific from behind the arc and is averaging six three-pointers in the last three contests. For the season, she has connected on 37 treys and is shooting 35.6 percent from three-point range. Sawyers also registered back-to-back games with seven made three-pointers against North Florida and Lipscomb.
200-Point Mark
With her 27 points over the weekend, Wells surpassed 200 this season, owning 203 on the season. Sawyers sits just four points behind Wells at 199 in her rookie campaign.
Sawyers in League Play
Sawyers leads the Owls in A-Sun action with 18 points per game, which sits fourth in the league. Her scoring average is the second highest for all freshmen in the conference.
Back-to-Back Wins
The Owls won back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Jacksonville and North Florida a season ago and earned their first league road win since beating Lipscomb on Jan. 28, 2013.
Owls Set Three-Point Record
With 12 three-pointers at Lipscomb on Thursday, the Owls tied the most three-pointers made in a game in program history. KSU first netted 12 treys a season ago against Davidson on Nov. 18, 2012.
Handing out the Helpers
KSU continued its record-breaking against the Bisons with a program-high 22 assists on Thursday night.
Offensive Rebounds
The Owls continue to be a strong offensive rebounding team, ranking fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference in offensive rebounding percentage (.343) and fifth in offensive rebounds with 196 total offensive rebounds for an average of 13.1 per game.
On the Defensive Glass
Defensively, KSU ranks third in rebounding defense and is holding teams to 38.2 rebounds per contest.
Wells in the A-Sun
Wells owns the only triple double in the A-Sun this season and the second-most double-doubles in the league with seven on the season. Her eight 10-rebound games are the third-most in the conference.
20-Point Games
Sawyers owns five 20-point games in her rookie campaign, which sits as third-most in the A-Sun.
Wells the Leader
Wells continues to lead the Owls and ranks in the top eight in the conference in minutes played (third, 35.0 mpg), rebounding (fourth, 9.0 rpg), assists (sixth, 3.0 apg), steals (sixth, 1.6 spg), assist/turnover ratio (sixth, 0.7) and scoring (eighth, 13.5 ppg).
Young Heating Up
Junior guard
Bria Young has scored in double figures in five-consecutive games and six of the last seven contests. She is averaging 11 points in the last five games, while pouring in a season-high 12 points against Georgia, Jacksonville and Lipscomb.
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.
Pro-rated season and single game tickets are currently available for all the home court action for the Owls and can be purchased by following the link HERE.
- #GoKSUOwls -
