CANCUN CHALLENGE INFORMATION
Opponent: Idaho State
Date: Thursday, Nov. 22
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Cancun, Mexico | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya
Watch | Live Stats | KSU Notes | Tournament Page

Opponent: Michigan State
Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Cancun, Mexico | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya
Watch | Live Stats | KSU Notes | MSU Notes | Tournament Page

GAME DAY STORYLINES 
• Kennesaw State (2-3) travels to the warm climate of Cancun, Mexico, to compete in the Cancun Challenge that opens on Thanksgiving. The Owls will face Idaho State (1-3) Thursday at 9 p.m. (ET) before taking on Michigan State (3-0) Friday at 9 p.m. (ET).
• KSU will take part in the Riviera Tournament of the Cancun Challenge that will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
• Idaho State and Michigan State will be first-time opponents for Kennesaw State.
• The Cancun Challenge will mark the first time the Kennesaw State women's basketball team has played outside of the United States since the 1988 when it played in the Bahamas.
• Rookie guard Amani Johnson has made an impact early in her collegiate career as she has earned back-to-back ASUN Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
• The 2018-19 season marks Kennesaw State's 14th at the Division I level and KSU has posted a 142-243 (.369) record since the 2005-06 season. 
• Head coach Agnus Berenato, who is in her 32nd season as a Division I head coach, is in her third year leading the Owls. She has an all-time record of 463-455 (.504), and guided Kennesaw State to the ASUN Conference semifinals in 2017.
• Kennesaw State has produced the last two ASUN Conference Freshmen of the Year in Carlotta Gianolla (2017) and Kamiyah Street (2018). Both players were unanimous picks.
• KSU returns three players who earned ASUN Conference postseason honors following the 2017-18 season. Forward Carlotta Gianolla garnered All-Academic honors, while Kamiyah Street and Alexis Poole were named to the All-Freshman team. Street also was a second team all-conference selection.
• The KSU roster includes four newcomers, including freshman guard Amani Johnson (North Versailles, Pa. East Allegheny HS), who earned Honorable Mention All-American honors following her senior campaign.
 
IDAHO STATE NOTES
• Idaho State is currently 1-3 on the season and has lost three in a row, falling on the road at Arizona (71-46), Gonzaga (70-51) and Utah (74-60). The Bengals are averaging 57.3 points a game while allowing 68.0 points a contest.
• Idaho State has two players scoring in double figures and is led by senior guard Saylair Grandon, who is averaging 12.5 points a game and a team-high 6.3 rebounds a contest. Redshirt-senior forward Grace Kenyon is contributing 12.7 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. 
• The Bengals completed the 2017-18 season with a 21-11 overall mark and tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference with an 11-7 conference mark.
• Idaho State was picked to finish third in the Big Sky Conference.
• Head coach Seton Sobolewski is in his 11th season leading the Idaho State program and has compiled an overall record of 172-145. 
 
SERIES
• Thursday's match-up will mark the first meeting between Kennesaw State and Idaho State.
 
MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
• Michigan State is currently 3-0 on the season and is coming off an 84-68 victory over Wright State on Sunday. The Spartans are averaging 86.0 points a game while allowing 63.3 points a contest.
• Michigan State has four players scoring in double figures and is led by senior center Jenna Allen, who is averaging 14.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds a game. Redshirt junior guard Shay Colley (14.0), junior guard Taryn McCutcheon (12.3) and freshman guard Nia Clouden (12.0) are also scoring in double figures.
• The Spartans completed the 2017-18 season with a 19-4 overall mark, tied for ninth in the Big Ten and advanced to the WNIT.
• Head coach Suzy Merchant is in her 24th season serving as Michigan State's head coach and has compiled a 246-122 record.
 
SERIES
• Friday's match-up with mark the first meeting between Kennesaw State and Michigan State.
• The Spartans represent the second Big Ten opponent Kennesaw State has played. The Owls fell 89-35 to No. 13/15 Maryland on Nov. 24, 2017 in Coral Gables, Fla.
 
JOHNSON EARNS BACK-TO-BACK HONORS
• Rookie guard Amani Johnson earned her second consecutive ASUN Conference Freshman of the Week honor on Monday.
• The Pennsylvania native averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in two games while averaging 36.0 minutes a contest.
• Johnson scored a career-high 17 points and added five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 74-63 victory over Furman Nov. 14.
• She followed that effort with four points and career-high totals of seven rebounds and two blocks while collecting five assists and two steals Sunday at East Carolina.
 
STREET, JOHNSON HONORED BY ASUN
• The Owls' backcourt tandem of Kamiyah Street and Amani Johnson were honored by the ASUN Conference following the opening week of the season, earning Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week recognition, respectively, during the season's opening week.
• Street averaged 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 4.0 steals a contest. She connected on 49.1 percent of her field goal attempts, including 35.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
• Johnson averaged 6.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.7 steals a contest.
 
STREET SETS KSU SCORING RECORD
• Sophomore guard Kamiyah Street etched her name atop the Kennesaw State record book after scoring a program-record 41 points at Seton Hall on Nov. 10.
• Street went 14-for-23 from the field, including 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc. She also added four rebounds, an assist and three steals against the Pirates.
• The Atlanta, Ga. native broke the previous record of 40 points set by Joanna Cuprys vs. UNC Pembroke on Jan. 25, 1997.
• Street eclipsed the prior NCAA Division I record of 36 points set by Gia Lockett versus Georgia Southern on Dec. 15, 2008.
 
EAST CAROLINA RECAP
•  Alexis Poole scored 14 points, Erica Moore added a career-high nine points, and Amani Johnson collected a personal-high seven rebounds to lead Kennesaw State during a 68-56 loss at East Carolina on Sunday.
• Kamiyah Street and Carlotta Gianolla each had nine points for the Owls, while Poole and Simina Avram had five rebounds apiece.
 
OWLS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
• Sophomore guard Kamiyah Street ranks in the top 50 nationally in minutes per game (No. 14, 38.4), points per game (No. 38, 21.2) and steals per game (No. 40, 3.4).
• Sophomore forward Alexis Poole is tied for fifth in the nation with three double-doubles (points-rebounds).
• Freshman guard Amani Johnson is tied for sixth nationally with 28 assists and 59th in assists per game (5.6).
 
SEEING DOUBLE
• Sophomore Alexis Poole has nine double-doubles in 31 career games.
 
POOLE APPROACHING TOP 10
• Alexis Poole has 24 career blocked shots and is one shy of moving into the KSU NCAA Division I top 10 in blocks.
 
STREET ENTERS TOP 10
• Sophomore Kamiyah Street, who holds the KSU NCAA Division I career scoring average record of 17.1 points a game, is 10th on the career steals list with 80.
 
ICEIS WALKER IN THE TOP 10
• Senior guard Iceis Walker has appeared in 87 career games and is tied for eighth on KSU's NCAA Division I games played list.
 
OWLS WELCOME NEW FACES
• KSU has added four newcomers to its roster and welcomes the services of redshirt senior Simina Avram, who sat out last year after transferring from Georgia Tech.
• The Owls have added freshmen guards Amani Johnson (North Versailles, Pa.), Kate Head (Brisbane, Australia), and Peyton Lewis (Hampton, Ga.), along with junior college transfer Erica Moore (Lizella, Ga.).
 
JOHNSON HIGHLIGHTS NEWCOMERS
• Freshman guard Amani Johnson (North Versailles, Pa.) headlines the list of newcomers after a standout prep career at East Allegheny HS.
• Johnson capped her brilliant career by earning 2017-18 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors and being tabbed a Pennsylvania Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year finalist.
• A four-sport athlete (basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball), Johnson concluded her basketball career with 2,345 points, 533 assists, 496 rebounds and 353 steals.
• Johnson averaged 26.7 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 steals as a senior.
 
A LOOK AT THE ROSTER
• Kennesaw State enters the 2018-19 season with a roster comprised of three seniors (Simina Avram, Janae Omusi, Iceis Walker), three juniors (Carlotta Gianolla, Alexandra Landby, Erica Moore), four sophomores (Breanna Hoover, Lexi Mann, Alexis Poole, Kamiyah Street) and three freshmen (Kate Head, Amani Johnson, Peyton Lewis).
 
THIRD TIME A CHARM
This season marks the third for head coach Agnus Berenato, and 11 of the 13 players on the roster were recruited by Berenato and her staff. Senior Iceis Walker and redshirt junior Alexandra Landby were with the program when Berenato arrived in March of 2016.
 
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
• Sophomores Alexis Poole and Kamiyah Street were named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team.
 
2017-18 POSTSEASON HONORS
• Kennesaw State had four players earn postseason honors following the 2017-18 season.
• Kamiyah Street was unanimously selected as ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year. She also garnered second team all-conference honors and was named to the all-freshman team along with Alexis Poole.
• Carlotta Gianolla and senior Clara Young were selected to the ASUN's All-Academic team.
 
2018-19 ASUN PRESEASON POLL
• Following a seventh-place finish a year ago, the Owls were selected fifth in the ASUN Conference preseason poll following a vote of the league's coaches. Defending champion FGCU was picked to repeat after receiving eight first-place votes and 80 points. Newcomer Liberty earned the other first-place vote and totaled 71 points to finish second.
 
ASUN ADDS TWO NEW TEAMS
• The nine-team ASUN Conference has a new look in 2018-19 with the addition of Liberty and North Alabama, and the departure of USC Upstate.
 
PITT STOP
Head coach Agnus Berenato, who spent 10 years leading the University of Pittsburgh program, has used her knowledge of the western Pennsylvania area in her recruiting efforts.
• In each of the last two years, Berenato has signed a recruit from the Pittsburgh area as Breanna Hoover (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Blackhawk HS) and Amani Johnson (North Versailles, Pa. / East Allegheny HS) have signed on to play for the Owls.
• Berenato again used those connections to sign shooting guard Gillian Piccolino (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Keystone Oaks HS) and center Gabriella Legister (Bridgeville, Pa. / Chartiers Valley HS) during the November signing period.
 
TOURNAMENT TIME
• Kennesaw State's non-conference schedule includes three tournaments. 
• The Owls competed in the Seton Hall Tip-Off where they played Seton Hall and UMBC.
• Kennesaw State is taking part in the Cancun Challenge Thanksgiving Weekend. The Owls open with Idaho State before playing Michigan State.
• KSU will wrap up its non-conference tournament schedule at the Georgia State Classic Dec. 20-21 in Atlanta. The Owls' opponents will be Bethune-Cookman and North Carolina Central.
 
DAZZLING DEBUT
• Guard Kamiyah Street had a freshman debut for the record books in 2017-18.
• Street led all ASUN freshmen in points (16.3), assists (3.2), steals (2.4) and free throw percentage (69.9). Her 16.3 points per game are a KSU Division I single-season record.
• The Atlanta, Ga. native ranked fourth in the country among freshmen in scoring average, fifth in steals per game and third in minutes per game (37.4).
• Street earned ASUN Freshman of the Week honors six times and garnered conference Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week accolades.  
 
UP NEXT
• The Owls conclude their trip to Cancun, Mexico, on Friday when they take on Michigan State beginning at 9 p.m. (ET).

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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