KENNESAW STATE AT FGCU Feb. 11 | 4 P.M. | Alico Arena Watch | Live Stats | KSU Game Notes Twitter: @KSUOwlsWBB

GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• Winners of five straight, Kennesaw State (7-16, 6-3) visits Florida Gulf Coast (19-7, 8-1) Saturday (Feb. 11) at Alico Arena. Tip-off is 4 p.m. (ET).
• The Owls are coming off a 66-56 win over NJIT Wednesday in Newark, N.J.
• A win over FGCU will give the Owls their first six-game winning streak since they won a Division I program-record seven straight during the 2014-15 season.
• A victory over the Eagles will also extend KSU's program-record five-game ASUN Conference winning streak, and surpass its win total (6-8) from a year ago. It will also guarantee the Owls their first .500 or better conference mark since 2008-09 when they finished 11-9.
• Kennesaw State is averaging 65.7 points a game, and has three players - Deandrea Sawyers (17.8), Carlotta Gianolla (12.1) and Kelly Dulkoski (10.2) – scoring in double figures in its last nine games.
• Senior Deandrea Sawyers leads KSU with 13 double-digit scoring games and ranks No. 2 on the program's all-time Division I scoring list with 1,301. She is 73 points shy of tying Kristina Wells (1,374) for first place.
• Freshman Carlotta Gianolla is averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field during the Owls' current five-game winning streak.
• 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 451-429 (.512) record and guided her teams to 11 postseason appearances (5 NCAA, 6 WNIT).
 
NJIT RECAP
Senior guard Deandrea Sawyers scored 20 points and totaled 11 rebounds to lead Kennesaw State to its fifth straight win following a 66-56 victory over NJIT Wednesday in Newark, N.J. Junior Kelly Dulkoski added 15 points and freshman Carlotta Gianolla contributed 10 points for the Owls. A 14-0 run to end the third quarter gave Kennesaw State a 51-37 lead, and the Owls withstood a late NJIT run that saw the Highlanders cut the lead to three points at 57-54 with 3:20 remaining. Gianolla answered the NJIT run with a big basket and ignited a 9-2 run to close out the game.
 
SCOUTING FLORIDA GULF COAST
The Eagles enter Saturday's game with a 19-7 overall record and sitting atop the ASUN Conference with an 8-1 mark. FGCU has won 13 out of its 14, including a 69-46 victory over North Florida on Wednesday (Feb. 8). Junior forward Rosemarie Julien is the Eagles' leading scorer, averaging 11.2 points a contest.
 
SERIES VERSUS FLORIDA GULF COAST
Saturday's game will mark the 22nd meeting between Florida Gulf Coast and Kennesaw State, and the Eagles lead the all-time series, 19-2. FGCU has won 13 straight in the series, with the Owls' last victory coming in a 63-52 home win on Feb. 14, 2011. 
 
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's game, the Owls travel to DeLand, Fla. to visit Stetson on Monday beginning at 7 p.m.
 
WINNING FORMULA
In their seven wins this season, the Owls are averaging 71.9 points a game, outscoring their opponents by 9.9 points a contest, and shooting 40.4 percent from the field. KSU has also been dominant on the boards, averaging 42.7 rebounds a game, and outrebounding their opponents by 11.0 rebounds a contest. Deandrea Sawyers has led the way, averaging 18.4 points a contest, while freshman Carlotta Gianolla is averaging 14.5 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.
 
GIANOLLA EARNS ASUN HONORS
Freshman Carlotta Gianolla was honored for her impressive performance during last week's sweep of NJIT and USC Upstate by being named the ASUN Conference Women's Basketball Newcomer of the Week, the conference announced on Monday (Feb. 6). It marks the second time this year she has been honored. The Owls' rookie averaged a double-double, scoring 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds a game, while connecting on 56.3 percent of her field goal attempts. Gianolla posted a double-double against NJIT (Feb. 2), scoring 12 points and totaling a career-high 14 rebounds. She followed that effort with 15 points and six rebounds versus USC Upstate on Saturday (Feb. 4).
 
SAWYERS SIZZLING
During her last seven games, senior Deandrea Sawyers is averaging 20.7 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. She is shooting 43.0 percent from the field, has scored 15 or more points in each game, including 20 or more points five times, and posted three double-doubles.
 
BOARD MEETING
Freshman Carlotta Gianolla has been a force on the boards during conference action. She is averaging 7.6 rebounds a game to rank fourth in the ASUN.
 
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.
 

ASUN WEEKLY HONORS
Player of the Week	Deandrea Sawyers (Jan. 30)
Newcomer of the Week	Carlotta Gianolla (Dec. 26)
Newcomer of the Week	Carlotta Gianolla (Feb. 6)

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. Defending tournament champion Jacksonville, 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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