KENNESAW STATE (16-9, 5-5) VS. No. 22/24 FLORIDA GULF COAST (23-2, 10-0)
GAME 26 | FEBRUARY 19, 2015 | 7 P.M. ET
KENNESAW, Ga. | KSU CONVOCATION CENTER (4,800)
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN3 | PROMOTIONS | TICKETS | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team returns to the KSU Convocation Center for back-to-back home contests against the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference this week, first taking on league leader and No. 22/24 Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. ET.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Thursday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Saturday's game with Nathan McCreary and Theresa Gernatt on the call.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's basketball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsWBB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
THE PROMOTIONS:
Thursday night is Harry Potter Night at the KSU Convocation Center, with the first 300 fans receiving free Harry Potter glasses.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Florida Gulf Coast
The league-leading Eagles enter Thursday's contest with a No. 22/24 national ranking in the AP Top-25 and USA Today Coaches' Polls, marking the first time in program history that FGCU has been in either poll. The Eagles own a 23-2 overall record and a dominating 10-0 mark in conference play, including a 69-43 win over Lipscomb on Saturday in their last outing. Whitney Knight leads the team with 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while also making a conference-leading 71 three-pointers on the season. DyTiesha Dunson leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.8 and has totaled 90 assists on just 32 turnovers this season. The Eagles lead the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage defense, rebounding defense, assists, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 18th meeting between the Owls and the Eagles, with FGCU holding a 15-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Eagles won the earlier meeting between the two teams this season with a 61-47 win in Fort Myers, Fla., on Jan. 24. Junior Jasmine McAllister notched her third 20-point game of the season with 20 points, including 14 in the second half alone, on 8-of-16 shooting, to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive end of the court. Redshirt-freshman Kelly Dulkoski pitched in nine points on 3-of-6 three-pointers for the Owls, while senior Kristina Wells added six points and six rebounds in the loss. 
 
All-Time Record: FGCU leads, 15-2
Last Meeting: FGCU won, 61-47, on Jan. 24, 2015 in Fort Myers, Fla.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Behind career efforts from sophomore Aareon Smith and junior Karly Frye, the Kennesaw State women's basketball team took the season sweep against North Florida with a 64-52 win on Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon in UNF Arena. Smith led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, including a 5-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. Frye equaled her career-high with 13 points, including three three-pointers in the first half, while also pulling down a career-high five rebounds in the win. Joining the pair in double figures was junior Jasmine McAllister with 13 points and senior Kristina Wells, who posted 12 second-half points. McAllister and Wells paced the Owls on the boards with seven rebounds each.
 
NEXT UP:
KSU continues its two-game Atlantic Sun Conference homestand with a contest against second-place Stetson on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. ET at the KSU Convocation Center.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Owls Keep Making History
The Owls equaled their win total from last season (6-24) in just eight games this season and have won 16 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
 
Most Wins in DI History
This season's 16 wins also ties the 2007-08 campaign for the most wins in program history for Division I play.
 
Defense Wins Games
The Owls are 5-2 when scoring 70 or more points and 14-5 when scoring 60 or more points. Defensively, the Owls have registered all 16 wins and only two losses when holding their opponents to 69 points or less, with seven of their nine losses coming when opponents score 70 points or more.
 
Owls on the Glass
KSU ranks second in the conference in rebounding margin in league play (+3.2) and are third in overall play (+2.5). The Owls are holding their opponents to 37.0 rebounds per contest in overall play to rank second and 35.6 boards per game to rank third in A-Sun action.
 
A-Sun Weekly Honors
The Owls have collected eight weekly honors from the A-Sun Conference this season, with junior Jasmine McAllister leading the way with five Newcomer of the Week accolades so far this season. Junior Karly Frye has also earned Newcomer of the Week honors, while senior Kristina Wells and sophomore Deandrea Sawyers have also been tabbed Player of the Week earlier this season.
 
Soaring Sawyers
Sawyers ranks second in the A-Sun in scoring in overall action (14.5 ppg) and ranks in a tie for sixth in conference play (14.3 ppg). She has 20 double digit games and is the A-Sun co-leader with five 20-point or more contests this season.
 
Triple Threat
McAllister ranks second in the conference in rebounding in both overall and league play with 10.7 and 9.7 boards per game, respectively. She adds 13.7 points per game in overall action to rank eighth in the A-Sun, while also ranking third and 48th in the NCAA with a 50.6 field goal percentage.
 
Windex Wells
Wells joins McAllister in the top-five in the conference for rebounding and ranks fifth with 8.0 boards per contest. She is also the third Owls in the top-20 for scoring and sits 17th with 11.2 points a game. 
 
Double-Double
McAllister leads the conference with 12 double-doubles on the season and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in that category.
 
Wells Smith Teaming Up
Wells and sophomore Aareon Smith have combined to average almost 29 points per game in the last four contests, with Wells pouring in 15.0 points per game and Smith posting 13.8 points per outing in that span.
 
A-Sun Active Career Points Leader
Wells is the active career points leader in the A-Sun after going over the 1,200-point mark earlier this season. She is currently the only active player that has at least 1,250 points, 750 rebounds, 300 assists and 180 steals and has amassed 1,310 points, 796 rebounds, 310 assists and 192 steals as an Owl.
 
Treymendous
Sawyers has connected on the fourth-most three pointers in the conference in overall action with 54 treys on the season, while also ranking fifth with 23 threes made in league play. She is averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game, which ranks fourth in the A-Sun in that category.
 
Smith at the Charity Stripe
Smith is leading the Owls with an 80.0 free-throw percentage in overall action and ranks fifth in the conference with an 80.8 clip from the charity stripe in A-Sun games.
 
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.