By: Zac Pike
Kennesaw State (9-13), (5-6)
vs. EKU (13-11), (6-5)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | KSU Convocation Center
Date: Feb. 9
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State women's basketball squares off against Eastern Kentucky as the Owls return home to the KSU Convocation Center Thursday at 7 p.m. for Kennesaw State Community night.
Both teams currently sit in the top half of the ASUN Conference with the Owls tied for sixth place in the league standings. A win would put KSU in a tie for fifth place with the Colonels. Kennesaw State returns a full squad after playing shorthanded last week after losing both games on the road by just a total of 12 points. The Owls close out the regular season with five of their seven games at home at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Owls are searching for their first win against the Colonels as EKU is 3-0 in the all-time series, with all three meetings occurring since last season. The two teams met earlier this year as Eastern Kentucky held off KSU 87-72.
Jah'Che Whitfield finished with a then career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, posting her first double-double of the season and ninth of her career as Kennesaw State fell at EKU. After a slow first quarter, the Owls' offense scored 64 points over the final thirty minutes of action.
Whitfield continues to establish herself as the most prolific scorers in the ASUN Conference as the Sumter, S.C. native is fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game.
Whitfield Enjoys Success on East Coast Road Swing
The graduate senior averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks in two games at Queens and Liberty last week. In addition to scoring a career-best 27 points at Queens, Whitfield went 10-for-11 from the charity stripe, the most free throws made by a KSU player since
Alexis Poole shot 11-of-11 vs. Furman on Dec. 2, 2021. The guard followed up with a 19-point performance at Liberty where she added seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist. The Sumter, S.C. native finished the week shooting at an 89.5 percent clip at the free throw line (17-of-19) and has scored in double-figures in 14 of her past 16 games. Whitfield leads the Owls in scoring (14.2), rebounding (5.7), defensive rebounds (99), made field goals (114), field goals attempted (271), free throws made (68), steals (33) and free throws attempted (99). The graduate senior ranks 4th in the ASUN in points per game (14.2) and 14th in rebounds (5.7).
Block Party
Standing 5'8,
Carly Hooks has been a catalyst on defense all season disrupting opposing offenses in a variety of ways. The guard leads the team with 14 blocks on the season and is third on the squad with 29 steals. In addition to her stellar defense, the Atlanta native has scored 15 or more points in four of the last seven games, including a career-high 21 points in a 71-52 win at Lipscomb.
Several Owls Post Career Highs at Queens
Whitfield and
Prencis Harden both stepped up with a career-high in points Thursday at Queens. Whitfield finished the night with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, surpassing her previous best of 23 points she registered at Eastern Kentucky earlier this season. Harden added a career-best 16 points and nine rebounds.
Stacie Jones notched a double-double for the Owls with 11 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks to lead Kennesaw State at Queens on Thursday. Harden followed up her performance at Queens with a near double-double at Liberty, posting nine points and 10 boards. In her last three games, she is averaging 12 points and nine rebounds.
Attacking the Paint
Kennesaw State's downhill offensive attack has created plenty of opportunities at the charity stripe as the Owls lead the ASUN and are ranked 40th overall in the NCAA in free throw attempts, averaging 20.36. KSU was relentlessly attacking the basket last week going 30-for-39 at Queens and 14-for-18 at Liberty, averaging nearly 30 free throw attempts per game.
Crashing the Glass
KSU's offensive rebounding has been a staple all season. The Owls lead the ASUN and are 61st in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, with 13.6. Kennesaw State has at least 11 offensive rebounds in 16 of 22 games this season.
Amani Johnson Adds Another Milestone
The graduate senior added another major milestone to her outstanding career. Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws late in the game at Austin Peay, which put her past the 1,500-point mark in her KSU career. The guard is already the KSU DI all-time leader in scoring (1,563), assists (592), field goals made (575), field goals attempted (1,547), minutes played (4,863) and steals (242). Johnson ranks fourth in the ASUN in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84), and third in assists (107) and assists per game (4.9).
Defense is Key
The KSU defense drives the success of the team this season and the Owls are 8-4 when holding their opponent below 40 percent shooting from the field. The KSU defense has held opponents below 65 points in seven of the past 10 contests and held four of those opponents to 57 points or fewer. Kennesaw State is 5-1 this season when limiting opponents under 60 points.
Scouting EKU
EKU sits in the top-50 nationally in assists per game, assist/turnover ratio, free throw percentage, scoring offense, three-point attempts, made threes per game, and forced turnovers. Antwainette Walker was named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week (Feb. 6) after recording a career-high 33 points and 11 rebounds against APSU, her 12th double-double of the season, ending the week averaging 25.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. She leads the ASUN in double-doubles, made field goals, field goal attempts, made free throws, points, points per game, rebounds, rebounds per game, steals, and steals per game. With 126 assists on the season and averaging 5.2 assists per game, point guard Alice Recanati sits inside the top-30 in the NCAA in both categories. Recently entering the top-10 in EKU career assists, needs 14 assists to move into 6th in program history.
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.
