KENNESAW STATE AT NORTH FLORIDA Jan. 23 | 7 P.M. | UNF Arena Watch | Live Stats | KSU Game Notes Twitter: @KSUOwlsWBB

GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• Kennesaw State (2-16, 1-3) and North Florida (8-11, 1-3) continue ASUN Conference play Monday (Jan. 23) at the UNF Arena. Tip-off is 7 p.m. (ET).
• The Owls have a four-game winning streak in the series dating back to the 2014-15 season.
• Kennesaw State has three players - Deandrea Sawyers (13.3), Allison Johnson (12.3) and Clara Young (11.0) - scoring in double figures.
• Sawyers and Young are tied for the team lead with eight double-digit scoring games.
• In her last two games, Sawyers has averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a contest.
• The 2016-17 season represents the 35th year of Kennesaw State women's basketball and 12th at the NCAA Division I level.
• Highly-respected head coach Agnus Berenato is in her first season leading the Owls' program.
• Berenato is in her 30th overall season as a head coach that includes tenures at Rider (1981-85), Georgia Tech (1988-2003), Pitt (2003-13) and Kennesaw State. Heading into Saturday's game, Berenato has posted a 446-429 (.510) record and guided her teams to 11 postseason appearances (5 NCAA, 6 WNIT).
• The Owls are 2-0 this season when scoring 70 or more appoints. KSU reached the 70-point plateau in a 72-60 win over Savannah State and 70-55 victory at Lipscomb.
 
GUEST COACH
Kim Martin, a Kennesaw State University alum who is now a successful real estate broker in northeast Florida, will serve as a guest coach during Monday's game and have a seat on the bench. 
 
JACKSONVILLE RECAP
Senior Deandrea Sawyers scored 15 points to lead Kennesaw State during a 72-48 setback to host Jacksonville Saturday afternoon in an ASUN Conference game at Fisher Gym. The Dolphins gained the upper hand early, building a 19-12 lead after the first quarter, and sparked by a 7-0 run to open the second quarter, opened up a double-digit lead and led 34-23 at halftime. The Dolphins shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the field, including 50 percent (4-for-8) from the 3-point line in the opening half, and finished the game with a 50.0 percent field goal mark. Freshman Carlotta Gianolla reached double figures with 10 points, while junior Kelly Dlukoski, in her return to action after missing nine games to an injury, scored seven points for the Owls.
 
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
North Florida begins play 8-11 overall and 1-3 in ASUN Conference play. The Ospreys are coming off a 60-58 home loss to Lipscomb on Saturday. UNF is averaging 63.8 points a game and has three players scoring in double figures. Junior guard Tesh Hanson leads the Ospreys with 12.2 points per game.
 
SERIES VERSUS NORTH FLORIDA
Monday's game will mark the 41st all-time meeting between Kennesaw State and North Florida, and the Owls lead the series, 24-16. KSU has won the last four contests played between the two programs, including 70-55 and 76-54 victories a year ago.
 
UP NEXT
Following Monday's contest, the Owls will conclude a stretch of three straight road games when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to meet USC Upstate on Saturday (Jan. 28). Tip-off is 7 p.m. (ET).  
 
CHAMPIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
The Owls excelled in the classroom during the fall semester, posting a program record 3.57 grade-point average. A total of four student-athletes - Chloe Branch, Carlotta Gianolla, Katie Polinsky and Alexandra Landby - recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs.
 
THE GRADUATE
Redshirt junior Chloe Branch participated in commencement exercises on Dec. 13. The Owls' forward earned a bachelor's degree in political science and is pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
 
GIANOLLA ASUN NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Carlotta Gianolla was recently honored for her impressive performance during the Puerto Rico Classic by being named the ASUN Conference Women's Basketball Newcomer of the Week (Dec. 26). The Owls' rookie averaged 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and connected on 43.2 percent of her field goal attempts, while averaging 28.3 minutes a contest. She was KSU's leading scorer in two of three games, reached double figures in each contest, and posted her first career double-double. Gianolla opened the tournament with 12 points and five rebounds versus Arkansas State before scoring a career-high 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds versus Portland State. The Marcon, Italy native capped the week by contributing 10 points and collecting a career-high 10 rebounds versus Xavier.
 
SOLID DEFENSE
Kennesaw State has done well on the defensive end during its three conference games as the Owls rank second in the ASUN Conference in field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 40.0 percent shooting. Jacksonville leads the ASUN with a 37.3 mark.
 
OWLS IN ASUN RANKINGS
Several Kennesaw State players rank among the ASUN Conference statistical leaders. The following is a list:
 
REBOUNDING
Allison Johnson (No. 5; 7.3 rpg.)
 
ASSISTS
Clara Young (No. 6; 3.0)
 
BLOCKED SHOTS
Allison Johnson (No. 3; 0.9)
 
MINUTES PLAYED
Clara Young (No. 5; 33.8 mpg.)
 
COACHING CONNECTIONS
The 2016-17 schedule features two opponents that are led by former assistants of first-year head coach Agnus Berenato. MaChelle Joseph, who was an assistant under Berenato at Georgia Tech, is now leading the Yellow Jackets' program, while her former assistant at Pitt, Yolett McPhee-McCuin, is now guiding the Jacksonville program.
 
THE COACHING STAFF
Head coach Agnus Berenato has assembled an experienced and well-respected coaching staff. Including Berenato's 29 years as a Division I head coach, the KSU coaching staff has a combined 55 years of experience at the Division I level. The staff is comprised of Khadija Head (8 years), Sherill Baker (4 years) and Lisa Pace (14 years).
 
WELCOME TO THE NEST
Head coach Agnus Berenato announced her first signing class on Thursday as the coaching staff inked four players to National Letters-of-Intent and one individual to a Grant-In-Aid. Brianna Dixon (Duluth, Ga. / Duluth High School), Breanna Hoover (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Blackhawk High School), Lexi Mann (Stone Mountain, Ga. / Greater Atlanta Christian) and Alexis Poole (Ellenwood, Ga. / Stockbridge High School) have signed National Letters-of-Intent and will enroll at Kennesaw State next fall. Caroline Dan (Copenhagen, Denmark / Falkonergaarden Gymnasium) has signed a Grant-In-Aid and will join the program in January.
 
OWLS 6TH IN ASUN COACHES POLL
Kennesaw State, coming off an 11-19 season and fifth-place finish a year ago, was picked sixth in the ASUN Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Jacksonville, which captured last season's conference tournament, was picked first in the poll after receiving 60 points and five first-place votes. Regular-season champion Florida Gulf Coast was voted second, after collecting two first-place votes and 55 points. Kennesaw State garnered 23 points.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook. Follow Coach Berenato on Twitter @KSUCoachB.   
   
 

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