By: Michael Pitts
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State returns home to the KSU Convocation Center Thursday night looking for its third-straight home win in its series against in-state foe Georgia State.
The Black and Gold are back coming off a five-game road trip that featured a wins at Chattanooga (Dec. 8) and Seattle (Dec. 16). KSU defeated the Redhawks 64-41 Monday night behind a third-straight double-double from
Prencis Harden.
Harden - who earned Conference USA Player of the Week Monday - is averaging 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Senior
Keyarah Berry leads the team with a 14.4 PPG average.
A win Thursday not only gives KSU back-to-back victories and wins in three of its last four, it would also mark the first three-game home winning streak over the Panthers in series history.
Kennesaw State is hosting a Teddy Bear Toss at halftime. Fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to throw on the court at halftime. All collected items will benefit underprivileged children in the greater Atlanta and Kennesaw communities. Click
here for more info.
2024-25 marks Kennesaw State's new era as a member of CUSA.
Game Information
Matchup: Georgia State Panthers (6-4, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) at Kennesaw State Owls (3-5, 0-0 CUSA)
Date: Thursday, December 19
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Kennesaw, Ga.
Arena: KSU Convocation Center
ESPN+ |
PxP: Jordan Griffitt |
Analyst: Shanteona Keys |
Courtside: Jade Barkett
KSU Owl Network | KSU Owls App or
click here |
PxP: Adam Crooks |
Analyst: Maddie Crews
Live Stats
KSU Game Notes | GSU Game Notes
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Notes to Know
- Prencis Harden has reached double figures in points in 10 of her last 12 games. During that stretch, she is averaging 14.8 PPG and 9.6 RPG.
- Harden's 16 double-doubles are fifth in Kennesaw State DI program history. Her 520 rebounds are ninth in KSU DI career history.
- KSU leads CUSA in double-doubles (6) and defensive rebound percentage (74.0%). KSU is third in the league in three-point defense (25.5%).
- The Owls' three-point defensive percentage is also 38th in the nation.
- Harden followed Berry in winning CUSA Player of the Week Monday. Berry was the first player in program history to win a CUSA weekly honor.
Series History
Thursday night will mark the 14th meeting between the in-state foes. Kennesaw State has won each of the last two meetings inside the KSU Convocation Center, including the first game in the series under head coach
Octavia Blue in Dec. 2022 (69-63).
KSU is 8-1 all-time under Blue when playing teams from the state of Georgia inside the friendly confines of the Convo. The Owls are 2-3 all-time against the Panthers at home.
Setting the Standard
KSU women's basketball comes off a season of achievements from its final year in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2023-24. On Dec. 2 against Coastal Georgia, the Owls posted their fewest points allowed in a single game at 25. An 85-75 win over Bellarmine (Feb. 8) was the second-most points scored by KSU in a road DI conference win and most since Feb. 18, 2006.
The team achieved its most weekly ASUN honors since the 2014-15 campaign and the second-most weekly DI conference freshman honors in program history.
Head coach
Octavia Blue became the fastest KSU WBB head coach to 30 Division I wins and 20 DI home wins while leading the Owls to their best conference start in DI history (4-0). KSU also marked its longest DI conference regular-season win streak of six games.
Kennesaw State led the conference in double-doubles behind
Prencis Harden, who led the ASUN with 10 a season ago. KSU also paced the league in offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebound percentage. The Owls also allowed just 33.6 defensive rebounds per game, the best mark in program history, beating the mark of 34.4 set in 2003-04.
Executive Producers
Kennesaw State begins the new year returning 88.67% of its point production from last season, the second-most in CUSA behind former ASUN foe Liberty by just .05% (88.72%). KSU also returns 74.1% of its minutes-accounted-for, the third-most in CUSA behind Liberty (85.2%) and New Mexico State (77.5%).
KSU's nine returners are tied with NMSU and Liberty for the CUSA lead. The Black and Gold also bring back five student-athletes who accrued at least 10 starts last season - the second-most in the conference behind the Aggies (6).
Carly 1K
Hooks currently has with 1,096 career points, the sixth-most among active women's basketball student-athletes in Conference USA. She surpassed 1,000 career points on the road last season at North Florida (Feb. 24). The grad led the ASUN last season with three games of 30+ points with all coming on the road. She enters 2024-25 on a five-game streak of 10+ points and has scored at least 14 in each of her last three.
Inside the Roster
Captains for 2024-25 include graduate guard
Carly Hooks and senior forward
Prencis Harden. Blue's fourth season at the helm sees nine returners on a roster loaded with experience in addition to four newcomers with just one true freshman.
Hooks and Harden join an impressive batch of returners that include
Keyarah Berry,
Morgan Dillard,
Kailyn Fields,
Lee Lee Willis,
Taylor Cullinan and
Sophia Rueppell.
Kennesaw State has six seniors/graduates on the team this season, the second-most in Conference USA.
Three of the four newcomers transferred in to KSU during the offseason with a combined 264 games played and 142 starts. Gaines enters with three seasons of experience at Clemson and Auburn. A 2024 Academic All-American, Gaby Bendeck-Giron, transfers in averaging 14.4 points per game last season at Pensacola State while
Claire Davis joins the Black and Gold from Palm Beach Atlantic with eight games of 10+ points in 2023-24. True freshman and 6'6" center
Mame Kane comes from Dakar, Senegal, as the first KSU Division I women's basketball student-athlete from the country.
Pack the Convocation Center
Season and single-game tickets are available for Kennesaw State women's basketball's first season as a member of Conference USA! A total of 14 home showdowns, including in-state clashes with Georgia State (Dec. 19) and Mercer (Dec. 30), as well as key CUSA games against MTSU (Jan. 9), Liberty (March 1) and Jax State (March 8) set the stage for an exciting season.
Click
here for more information. Admission is free for Kennesaw State University students to all 2024-25 home women's basketball games.
Stay updated with the action on the court for KSU women's basketball on X @KSUOwlsWBB, Instagram at @KSUOwlsWBB and on Facebook here.
