GAMES 6-7: Kennesaw State (1-4)
DATE: Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 28-29
LOCATION: KSU Convocation Center | Kennesaw, Ga.
TOURNAMENT PAGE: 2015 Thanksgiving Classic
GAME NOTES: 2015 Thanksgiving Classic | FAMU | KENNESAW STATE | NEW ORLEANS | WESTERN CAROLINA | ASUN NOTES

A LOOK AT THE 2015 THANKSGIVING CLASSIC …
The Kennesaw State women's basketball program will host the 2015 Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28-29 at the KSU Convocation Center. The Owls will match up against Western Carolina and New Orleans over the weekend, while Florida A&M will also take part in the tournament. KSU games will be broadcasted on ESPN3, while the other contests will be aired on A-SUN TV.
 
2015 Thanksgiving Classic Tournament Page
 
A LOOK AT THE OWLS' 2015 SCHEDULE…
- 15 home games at the KSU Convocation Center.
- 15 road games.
- Five non-conference tilts with in-stat Georgia schools
- Season opener versus Georgia State on Friday, Nov. 13
- Atlantic Sun opener on Jan. 9, welcoming Lipscomb to the KSU Convocation Center

STATS LEADERS…
Points: Jasmine McAllister, 11.6
Rebounds: Jasmine McAllister, 8.6
Assists (total): Karly Frye, 25
Blocks (total): Jasmine McAllister, 6
Steals (total): Karly Frye, 8
 
LAY-UPS…
- Head coach Nitra Perry is in her fourth season, holding a 31-65 overall record with the Owls.
- Stacey Franklin, Janie Mitchell and Nicci Kelly will help Coach Perry on the bench as the assistants in 2015-16.
- Kennesaw State welcomes back seven letter winners returning from a season ago, which helped anchor a 17 win season.
- Kennesaw State has begun the season with a 1-4 mark, with its lone win coming at home against Presbyterian.
- Kennesaw State has had three players (Aareon Smith, Iceis Walker and Tayler Smith) record career highs in points in just five games this season.
- The Owls will look to snap a three-game losing skid at home against Western Carolina on Saturday before playing host to New Orleans on Sunday.
- The two matchups will mark the first meetings in programs' history, having never played each other.
 
KSU BY THE NUMBERS…
1 – The Owls won their first game of the 2015-16 season with a 49-47 win over Presbyterian.
6 – Kelly Dulkoski's six 3-pointers marked a new career-high for a single game.
11 – Clara Young scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half against Florida on Nov. 21.
12 – Iceis Walker scored 12 points in her debut in the starting lineup against Florida.
14.5 – KSU is averaging 14.5 assists per game at home this season.
17.6 – The Owls rank 2nd in the ASUN with 17.6 FT attempted per game.
18 – Kelly Dulkoski's 18 points against Presbyterian was one point shy of tying her single-game career high.
27 – KSU is averaging 27 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks third in the ASUN.
822- Deandrea Sawyers has 822 career points, which ranks 9th among active ASUN players.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA …
- Western Carolina is currently on a three-game losing skid after winning its first two games.
- 45 points scored against UNCA was a season low for WCU.
- WCU did, in fact, make a season-high five 3-points against UNCA.
- WCU has been outscored by 20 or more points for the second straight game.
- The Catamounts are led by head coach Stephanie McCormick.
- This will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
 
SCOUTING NEW ORLEANS …
- New Orleans will enter the weekend with a 1-1 record.
- UNO is coming off an impressive 93-75 victory over LSU-Alexandria on Nov. 19.
- This is mark the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
- The Privateers return six of their top seven scorers from 2014-15 and 88 percent of their rebounding.
- The last tournament Uno took part in was the 2012 Basketball Travelers Invitational hosted by Texas Tech.
- The Privateers will also take on FAMU in the tournament, which are 0-3 against the Rattlers all-time.
 
NEW ORLEANS ROSTER
No.    Name                                 Cl.     Ht.     Pos.                           Hometown/Previous School
00           Halie Matthews               F       6-0         So.                       Harvey, La. / West Jefferson HS   
3             Jewel Angelo                 G        5-11       Jr.                                Manvel, Texas / Manvel HS   
4             Ariele Davis                   G        5-8         Jr.                             Alexandria, La. / Pineville HS   
5             Alexis Martin                 G        5-7         R-Jr.                         Shreveport, La. / Alcorn State   
10           Danielle Wright              G        5-7         Fr.                              Morrilton, Ark. / Morrilton HS   
14           Raven Coleman              F        6-0         Jr.                              Marrero, La. / John Ehret HS   
20           Dasia Batiste                G         5-7         Jr.                          Houston, Texas / Episcopal HS   
21           Randi Brown                 G         5-7         So.                      Houma, La. / Central Catholic HS   
22           Mathilde Fogelstrom      F/C      6-2         S       Copenhagen, Denmark /Kent HS/Orestad Gymnasium   
23           Mariah Wright                G        5-3         R-Fr.                                Zachary, La. / Zachary HS   
25           Kayla Mundy                 G        5-8         So.                             McKinney, Texas / Liberty HS   
30           Shania Woods               C        6-1         Fr.                               Cypress, Texas / Lutheran HS   
32           Danielle Davis                G        5-8         R-Sr                       Oakton, Va. / Central Connecticut
34           Bria Platenburg              F        5-10       R-Jr.                            Frisco, Texas / Texas Women's
35           Yasmin Taylor                F        5-10       Sr.                                  Metairie, La. / Grace King HS
 
WESTERN CAROLINA ROSTER
No.    Name                                 Cl.     Ht.     Pos.                           Hometown/Previous School
3             Kyia Hough                    5-5       G            SO                       Lancaster, S.C. (Lancaster HS)
11           Sherae Bonner               6-2       F             SO                        Whitesburg, Ga. (Central HS)   
15           Lindsay Simpson           5-7       G            SR                             Franklin, N.C. (Franklin HS)
20           Angel Allen                   5-5       G            FR                   Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Blackman HS)
22           Ace Easter                   5-10     G            SO                              Catawba, N.C. (Bandys HS)
23           JonTay Mitchem            5-9       G            SO                         Columbia, S.C. (Ridgeview HS)   
25           Erika Joseph                 6-0       F             SR                               Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview HS)
31           Raziyah Farrington        5-8       G            FR                       Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chapel Hill HS)
34           Julia Brown                   5-10     F             SO         Greensboro, N.C. (Bishop McGuiness HS)   
35           Lindsey Burleson          6-2       F             SR                   Albermarle, N.C. (North Stanley HS)
40           Mika Wester                 5-11     G            FR                      Newport, Tenn. (Cocke County HS)
44           Brianne Mack               6-3       F             SR       Charlotte, NC. (Southlake Christina Academy)
52           Emily Hatfield               6-2       F             SO             Hendersonville, N.C. (Hendersonville HS)   
 
WIN WOULD…
- Snap a three-game losing skid and give the Owls their second win of the season.
- Improve the Owls' home record to 2-1 on the season.
- Move Coach Perry to 21 wins away from moving into sole possession of having the third-most wins in KSU program history.
- Give Kennesaw State its first win over Western Carolina and, on Sunday, its first win over UNO in program history.  
 
KEY TEAM NOTES THROUGH FIVE GAMES!…
-- The Owls defense has been tough to score on through three games, holding opponents to just 38.6 shooting (124-of-321) against Georgia State, Presbyterian, Jacksonville State, Florida and FAMU.
- Clara Young came off the bench for the first time this season against Florida, totaling 11 of her 13 points in the second half.
- Young hit two 3-pointers in the second half against the Gators, marking the fourth consecutive game she has hit at least one 3-pointer.
- Iceis Walker earned her first start in her young Owls' career, pouring in a career-high 12 points and grabbed a career-best eight board in the loss to Florida.
- Kennesaw State is getting out to a fast start to games, outscoring opponents 75-74 in the first quarter. The Owls are averaging 14.5 points in the first 10 minutes of play.
- However, Kennesaw State is being outscored in each of the final three quarters.
- The Owls continue to find ways to get to the free throw line in this early part of the season. They rank second in the A-Sun with 17.6 free throws attempted and have made 63-of-88 attempts through five games.
- Freshman Tayler Smith scored a career-high 17 points and played 21 minutes off the bench in KSU's overtime loss at Florida A&M.
- Senior Karly Frye is averaging 5.0 assists per game this season. Last year she was the Owls' top distributor at 3.2 assists per contest.
- Through five games, Frye has totaled 25 total assists which is 17 clear of the closest player (Clara Young) for the most on the team.
- Kennesaw State willl be at home for a tournament this weekend. They average 14.5 assists in home games, compared to just 9.0 on the road this year.
- The Owls average 27.0 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks them third  in the conference in that category entering this weekend.
- Deandrea Sawyers enters this weekend with 822 career points. She is tied for ninth among active A-Sun players.
 
COACH PERRY FACTS…
- Head coach Nitra Perry is 22 wins away from moving into sole possession of third-most wins in program history - the all-time winningest coach is Colby Tilley with 290.
- Coach Perry has 31 wins in three-plus seasons, including a breakout 17-win campaign just a season ago.
- Coach Perry is the second Owls' head coach in the Division I era.
 
KSU WOMEN BASKETBALL FACTS…
- Kennesaw State will enter its 34th season of competition, as the first year of play was the 1982-83 season.
- The first year of competition in the Division I era was in 2005-06.
- The Owls' all-time NCAA record is 335-280 (.544) in 21 seasons.
- Kennesaw State holds a 204-143 (.588) record at the NAIA level.
- KSU holds a 69-113 (.379) record all-time in the Atlantic Sun.
- The Owls are 68-78 in 10-plus seasons at the KSU Convocation Center since becoming a Division I member with the ASUN.
- The Owls have made three NCAA postseason appearances in 1007, 1999, and 2000.
 
AAREON SMITH CAREER NIGHT…
- Aareon Smith poured in a career-high 20 points in an Owls uniform in their home-opening loss to crosstown Rival Georgia State.
- Smith finished with a game-high in points (20) and 3-pointers made (4) against the Panthers.
- Smith went 4-for-9 from beyond the arc and 5-for-11 overall from the field.
- The junior forward is from Louisville, Kentucky and is in her third season with Kennesaw State.
 
DULKOSKI FROM DEEP!…
- Kelly Dulkoski made a career-high six 3-pointers in a single game against Presbyterian on Monday (Nov. 16) night.
- The redshirt sophomore poured in 18 points – one point shy of tying her career high of 19.
- Dulkoski made six of the Owls seven 3-pointers made in the game, making three in each half.
- All of Dulkoski's 3-pointers have come on the Owls' home floor (6-of-20) and has yet to make one on the road.
- In fact, Dulkoski's shots from the field have all come from beyond the arc and not one inside the 3-point line.
 
BRINGING ENERGY OFF THE BENCH!…
- Freshman forward Tayler Smith dropped a calm 17 points against the Rattlers last Tuesday in 21 minutes off the bench.
- The 17 points marked a career-high for the freshman, which included seven straight points in the first quarter.
- On the year, Smith is averaging 10.5 points per game and 2.0 rebounds. The freshman is 7-of-11 from the field and is shooting 63.6 percent from the field.