By: Zac Pike
Kennesaw State (5-8), (1-1)
at Bellarmine (4-11), (0-2)
Location: Louisville, Ky. | Freedom Hall
Date: Jan. 7
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Live Stats |
Video
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State women's basketball begins a three-game road trip with the first game taking place against Bellarmine Saturday at Freedom Hall.
The Owls enter the matchup posting a 4-2 record in their past six games and look to improve to 2-1 in ASUN play for the first time since the 2015-16 season. KSU and Bellarmine have met three times, with all three meetings coming at Freedom Hall. The Knights won the first two meetings and Kennesaw State earned a 72-65 win last season in Octavia Blue's first season.
Amani Johnson led the Owls with 16 points and five assists.
Prencis Harden had a career day as well, posting a then career-high 11 points and seven boards in just 18 minutes of action.
Jah'Che Whitfield anchors the KSU offense, averaging 14.1 points per game and has scored in double-figures in seven straight games.
Lyndsey Whilby is second, averaging 10.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and leads the Owls with 25 three-pointers on the season.
Amani Johnson is third in scoring, averaging 9.2 points and a team-best 5.3 assists, good for second in the ASUN Conference.
Whitfield Leading Owls in Multiple Categories
Jah'Che Whitfield finished with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds at EKU in the ASUN Conference opener, posting her first double-double of the season and the ninth of her career. The Sumter, S.C. native has scored at least 14 points in seven straight games and leads the Owls in scoring (14.1), rebounding (5.2), made field goals (68), field goals attempted (143), made free throws (35), free throws attempted (55), and three-point percentage (.462).
KSU and Amani Johnson Break Records in Rout Over Coastal Georgia
Kennesaw State scored a program-record 109 points and
Amani Johnson added another record to an already illustrious career as the graduate senior scored 15 points to break the KSU Division I career scoring record as the Owls raced past Coastal Georgia 109-53. Johnson finished with her first double-double of the season, scoring 15 and dishing out a career-high 13 assists. Johnson surpassed
Alexis Poole on the all-time scoring list, who set the record last season for KSU. The Owls set season highs in points (109), field goals made (38), field goal attempts (81), free throws made (25), assists (23), steals (15) and blocked shots (6) in a dominant performance against the Mariners. Six Owls scored in double-figures in the 56-point win over the Mariners.
Owls Take Down Furman For First Road Win
Kennesaw State knocked off Furman 75-69 on the road at Timmons Arena.
Amani Johnson,
Jah'Che Whitfield and
Carly Hooks combined for 46 points as the Owls earned their first road victory of the season. Johnson finished with a team-high 17 points, Whitfield chipped in 15 and Hooks finished with 14. Hooks was particularly effective in the second half, scoring 12 of her 14 points over the final 20 minutes of action. KSU dominated the paint and in transition, outscoring Furman 38-22 and 13-2 on fast break points.
KSU Knocks Off Georgia State for Third Time in Program History
Second-year head coach Octavia Blue earned a big 69-63 win over Georgia State for its third win against the Panthers in program history. In the season opener, the Owls hit the century mark for the second time in KSU DI history 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 Sets Career-High 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.
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.
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 Bellarmine
Bellarmine is coming off an 87-52 setback Thursday at North Alabama, its second-most lopsided loss of the season after current No. 7 LSU (116-53) in the season opener. Freshman Gracie Merkle posted her fourth 20-point game of the season after scoring a game-high 20 points against North Alabama. The 6-foot-6 center hit 7-of-9 shots and ranks second in the nation in field-goal percentage (69.5). Merkle is a four-time ASUN Freshman of the Week and a one-time ASUN Player of the Week. In addition to FG percentage, she leads Bellarmine in scoring (13.2), rebounding (9.3) and blocked shots (2.6). Merkle's tallies place her second in the ASUN in rebounding and blocked shots and 11th in scoring. Merkle's 39 total blocks rank 10th in a single season in program history. Brown made her first collegiate start against North Alabama. The freshman guard preceded the contest with the best performance of her young career as she notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Jacksonville. Bellarmine ranks second in the ASUN in blocks (4.9) and third in rebounding margin (plus-4.0).
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.
