By: Hunter McKay
KENNESAW, Ga.- Kennesaw State women's basketball hosts Samford on Saturday (Nov. 9) for the Owls home opener at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Rundown
Opponent: Samford (1-0, 0-0)
Date: November 9, 2019
Site: Kennesaw, Ga. ( KSU Convocation Center)
Tipoff: 2 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN+
Game Notes: KSU |
Samford
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Top Storylines
• Kennesaw State returns to the court against Samford after a hard-fought 80-65 loss to open the season at UGA.
• The Owls return nine players, including all five starters from last year's squad. Kennesaw State comes into the 2019-20 season with last season's leading scorer,
Kamiyah Street, (16.9 PPG), leading rebounder,
Alexis Poole (8.4 RPG) and leader in assists (
Amani Johnson (4.4).
• During the summer, it was announced that the Owls were ranked No. 20 in the WBCA Academic rankings. The Owls were the sole program in the ASUN to receive the honor as well as the only program in the state of Georgia to be recognized on the list. KSU ended the season with a 3.54 GPA.
• With
Amani Johnson's 2018-19 ASUN Freshman of the year award, the Owls have won three-straight awards.
Carlotta Gianolla won the award for the 2016-17 season, while
Kamiyah Street won the award for the 2017-18 campaign.
• The Owls welcome two newcomers on this year's squad,
Gillian Piccolino and
Gabi Legister. Both hail from the Pittsburgh, Pa. area and logged significant playing time during the team's Italian Summer Tour.
• The Owls are coming off a 9-22 record, which included a 4-12 mark in conference play. The regular season was highlighted with a 70-47 win over NJIT on Feb. 9, 2018, when the Owls hosted Pink Day to honor Coach Berenato and her battle with breast cancer.
• After reaching the conference tournament with a No. 7 seed, the Owls knocked off No. 2 Stetson in the first round of the ASUN Championship Tournament. The victory was just the second time in league history that a No. 7 seed moved on the semifinals.
• Two new faces will be seen on the Kennesaw State bench this season. This summer, Coach Berenato introduced
Janell Crayton and
Alex Winchell as assistant coaches. Crayton comes to Kennesaw State from Hampton University, where she served as an assistant coach. Winchell joins the KSU staff from Memphis, where she served as the director of basketball operations.
• The Owls welcome two more student-athletes from the Pittsburgh, Pa., area with the additions of Piccolino and Legister, upping the total to four on the roster.
Noting Samford
• Samford enters the 2019-20 with a new face at the helm. The Bulldogs welcome Carley Kuhns to the bench.
• Samford returns an experienced roster this season. Four of the team's five starters return, and the team returns 89 percent of its scoring, 96 percent of its rebounding and 92 percent of its assists from last year's squad.
•The Bulldogs won their season-opener against Montevallo, 81-60.
• Samford welcomed three new faces to theis year's team, including two transfers. Sarah Myers, Christen Carter and Kathleen Wheeler will all get time for the Bulldogs.
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