By: Zac Pike
Kennesaw State (0-0), (0-0)
at Ole Miss (0-0), (0-0)
Location: Oxford, Miss. | SJB Pavilion
Date: Nov. 7
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Live Stats |
Video
KENNESAW, Ga. – Year two of the Blue Era officially begins Monday as the Kennesaw State women's basketball team travels to the SEC to take on Ole Miss in the season opener at 6 p.m.
The Owls are 3-1 in their last four season openers and are searching for their first win over an SEC opponent. KSU and Ole Miss have met just once on the court, with the Rebels earning a 92-63 win on Nov. 13, 2017.
In the opening contest last year, head coach Octavia Blue's squad torched the nets in a 100-31 victory, setting the record for most points in a game in program history.
Ole Miss is coming off a 23-9 campaign, the most wins for the program since 2006-07 and a NCAA Tournament appearance.
Season tickets for the 2022-23 basketball season are still available for purchase! Season ticket packages start at $55 and courtside season tickets are available now as well for Owl Fund members. Click
here to secure your seats now! Please call the ticket office at 470-578-6957 to purchase courtside seats.
Johnson Aiming for KSU Scoring Record
Entering the 2022-23 season,
Amani Johnson is poised to break the Kennesaw State record for most points scored in program history. Johnson currently sits with 1,350 points and only needs 103 more points to pass Alexis Poole for the record. She already holds the KSU Division I record for assists (485), steals (209), and minutes played (4,061).
Scoring Weapons Return to Kennesaw State
The Owls return 73.8% of their scoring from a year ago. Graduate guards
Amani Johnson and
Jah'Che Whitfield combined for 602 total points in KSU's offense last season, with Johnson scoring over 300 points and Whitfield chipping in 235. Four different Owl players accumulated more than 100 points last year, including
Bre'Lyn Snipes (158) and
Stacie Jones (125).
Second Season Under Blue
Octavia Blue enters her second season at the helm at Kennesaw State. After going 9-19 last season, Coach Blue is aiming to build upon last year's squad, improving on strong home performances with an explosive offense and defense. Seven of KSU's nine wins came at home last season, as the Owls won games by an average of 17.3 points. Blue's coaching debut at KSU started strong with a historic 100-31 win over Thomas (Nov. 9), marking the first time Kennesaw State scored 100 points in a game in program history.
Power Five Influx
Kennesaw State made some new additions to the team this offseason, signing two guards and two forwards who transferred from Power 5 schools. Former Purdue guard and Georgia native Lyndsey Whilby returns home to play her graduate season at Kennesaw State, bringing along postseason success in Big Ten Tournament victories. Keyarah Berry, a sophomore guard from Indiana, looks to spark the KSU offense to new heights as she scored 3,340 points in her high school basketball career, which ranks second all-time in the state of Georgia. Junior forward Kyndall Golden previously played nine games at Vanderbilt, averaging 15.7 minutes per game in her sophomore season. Sophomore forward Taylor Cullinan also returns to her native Georgia after playing six games at Alabama and an impressive career at North Paulding High School. KSU's fifth transfer, Carly Hooks
, comes from ETSU, where she led the team in points per game as a freshman and sophomore.
Owls Welcome New Assistant Coaches
The Owls added two new assistant coaches this past offseason. Malikah Willis joins the Owls with over 20 years of coaching experience from 10 different colleges, including West Virginia and Georgia Tech. Composed as a high-profile recruiter and veteran coach, Willis helped assemble seven top-25 recruiting classes and coached 16 student-athletes to all-conference honors, including five future WNBA draft picks. Drew Landers brings seven years of Division I coaching experience to KSU as a former assistant coach at USC Upstate for the previous two seasons. Landers improved the Spartans' win total by 14 games, finishing with a record of 22-8, as well as helping player recruitment and development on a national level.
Scouting Ole Miss
Ole Miss capped off an impressive 23-9 season, setting several records for the program. The Rebels had a 13-game winning streak, the third longest in program history. The 10 SEC wins marked the second most in a season for Ole Miss. The Rebels' .718 winning percentage marked the program's best winning percentage since the 1993-1994 season where Ole Miss went 24-9. The 2020-21 SEC Freshman of the Year, Madison Scott, started in all 32 games for the Rebels while Collins appeared in all 32 games with 18 starts as a sophomore. Angel Baker averaged 12.4 points per game and dropped six 20-point performances as a reserve. Her play led to her becoming the first Rebel to be named the SEC Sixth-Woman of the Year.
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.
