By: Zac Pike
Kennesaw State (1-5), (0-0)
at Florida International (3-3), (0-0)
Location: Miami, Fla. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center
Date: Dec. 4
Time: 2:00 p.m. EST
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State women's basketball travels to Miami, Fla. to take on Florida International Sunday afternoon at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
KSU concludes a five-game road swing and looks to finish the trip with a win against the Panthers. The two teams have only met once on the court, as KSU and FIU met last season in Kennesaw.
Amani Johnson finished with 10 points and a team-best four assists for the Owls in the 67-57 loss to Florida International.
Record-Setting Home Performance
Second-year head coach Octavia Blue has shown what her offense is capable of early on as the Owls' offense has rewritten the Kennesaw State record books with a pair of 100-point outbursts in just over a year at the helm. The Owls hit the century mark for the second time in KSU DI history in the home opener on Nov. 7, in a 100-57 win over Middle Georgia State. The Owls knocked down 11 three-pointers, tied for the fourth-highest total and grabbed 61 rebounds in the win, the second-highest in KSU history.
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 1,398 points and only needs 56 more points to pass
Alexis Poole for the record. She already holds the KSU Division I record for assists (509), steals (216), and minutes played (4,259).
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). Through four games this season, Whitfield (9.5 points), Johnson (8.0 points),
Lyndsey Whilby (8.0 points), Jones (6.5 points) and Snipes (6.3) lead the KSU offense through six games.
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. Whilby has gotten off to a quick start at KSU, posting her first career double-double with 20 points and career-best 14 rebounds against Middle Georgia State.
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.
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 FIU
FIU features three players averaging double-figures in scoring through six games. Sifa Joyeuse leads the squad with 18.8 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds. Joyeuse's 18.8 points per game rank first in C-USA. Kaliah Henderson averages 12.8 points and Sariana Rodriguez Camacho posts 10.0 points per game for the Panthers. Henderson leads the team with 19 steals, ahead of sophomore point guard Tanajah Hayes, who has 16 steals, and Sifa Joyeuse (15). They are the only three players with steals in the double-digits. FIU's offense averages 81.2 points per game, good for 24th nationally and first in the C-USA. The Panthers also rank first in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (21.0), rebounds per game (48.33), steals per game (13.7), three-point attempts per game (27.3) and turnovers forced per game (24.0).
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.
