By: Zac Pike
Kennesaw State (1-6), (0-0)
vs. Georgia State (4-6), (0-0)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | KSU Convocation Center
Date: Dec. 10
Time: 2:00 p.m. EST
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State women's basketball welcomes Georgia State Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for a matchup between the Owls and Panthers at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Owls look to bounce back after
Jah'Che Whitfield posted a career-high 22 points and
Carly Hooks knocked down five triples in a loss at FAU Sunday. Georgia State is coming off an 85-58 loss at Clemson.
KSU and Georgia State have met nine times, with the Panthers holding a 9-2 advantage in the series. Kennesaw State is 1-3 against the Panthers at home and is looking for its first win over Georgia State since a 71-61 win back on Nov. 30, 2017. The last time the two squads met, Georgia State outlasted KSU 79-73 in overtime (Dec. 13, 2018).
Last Time Out at Home
Second-year head coach Octavia Blue has shown what her offense is capable of early on as the KSU 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 in school history and grabbed 61 rebounds in the win, the second-highest in KSU history.
Hooks and Whitfield Set Career-Highs at FIU
Carly Hooks finished with 15 points, five rebounds, a team-best three steals and two blocks at FIU, including a career-high 5 three-pointers. The Atlanta, Ga. native was the first Owl to knock down at least five triples in a game since
Amani Johnson (7-for-7) and
Gillian Piccolino (6-for-9) on Jan. 24, 2021, against North Florida.
Jah'Che Whitfield scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting at FIU Sunday. Her 22 points were the most a KSU player has scored through seven games this season.
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 1,405 points and only needs 48 more points to pass
Alexis Poole for the record. She already holds the KSU Division I record for assists (516), steals (217), and minutes played (4,297).
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).
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.
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 Georgia State
Georgia State's defense limits opponents to 59.5 points per game, good for 90th in the country. The defense is also adept at forcing turnovers (19.0) and steals (10.7) Georgia State features a pair of double-digit scorers in Mikyla Tolivert and Deasia Merrill. Tolivert leads the Panthers in scoring, averaging 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Tolivert is also one of the best free throw shooters in the Sun Belt, going 34-of-37 (91.9 percent) from the charity stripe this season. Merrill is second in scoring, averaging 13.0 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds.
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.
