By: Joseph Hovey
Kennesaw State (6-3, 0-0 CUSA) at Miami (7-4, 1-1 ACC)
Coral Gables, FL | Watsco Center | Sunday, Dec. 21 | 12 p.m.
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KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball continues non-conference play on Sunday as it travels to Miami to face the Hurricanes. The game begins at noon with live coverage on the ACC Network.
HOMECOMING FOR COACH BLUE
Sunday's game marks KSU head coach
Octavia Blue's return to a place rich with her own basketball history. A native of nearby Deerfield Beach, Fla, Blue prepped at Fort Lauderdale's Nova High School before beginning a prolific four-year career as a Hurricane (1994-98).
Blue averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds on her way to 1,724 career points – a mark that still ranks eighth all-time at Miami. As a senior in 1997-98, Blue averaged 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting a school-record 45.3% from three. Blue finished her senior season with All-America honors and went on to be inducted in the Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
Prior to taking the helm at KSU, Blue held assistant (2012-20) and associate head coaching (2020-21) positions at Miami.
STRONG START
With its 69-63 win at Georgia State, KSU improved to 6-3, achieving the program's best start under Blue and best nine-game start since the 2014-15 season. A seventh win on Sunday would give the Owls their best 10-game start since 2014-15.
POWER CONFERENCE OPPONENT
Miami is the second power conference opponent KSU has faced this season. The Owls fell 79-65 at Alabama on Dec. 1. The Crimson Tide remain undefeated since and are currently ranked top 30 in NET.
Sunday's matchup gives KSU an opportunity at its first all-time win over an ACC team and first win over a power conference foe since defeating Providence 53-51 on Dec. 21, 2023 at the West Palm Beach Classic.
The Owls and Hurricanes have met just once previously, a 93-69 Miami win in Coral Gables on Nov. 12, 2010.
OWLS BY THE NUMBERS
KSU leads the CUSA in field goal percentage (45.1) and 3-point percentage (34.8) while ranking second in scoring margin (9.8).
Guards
Keyarah Berry and
Shania Nichols lead the Owls at 15.7 and 11 points per game respectively. Berry has scored in double figures in eight outings and ranks second in the CUSA with 56 field goals made this season. Nichols has tallied 18 or more points in four games and ranks eighth nationally in 3-point percentage (51.5).
Forward
Trynce Taylor leads the Owls in rebounding with 7.6 boards per game and registered her fourth double-figure scoring game with 16 at Georgia State.
The Owls rank top four among CUSA teams in five defensive categories including leading the league in rebounds allowed at 29.9 per game.
Berry and fellow guard
Kaelyn Flowers both rank top 10 in the league in steals per game while freshman forward
TaTianna Stovall recorded a CUSA single-game season-high six blocks in the Owls win over the Panthers. Stovall's six blocks are the most recorded by an Owl in the
Octavia Blue era and fourth-most nationally in a game this season.
SECOND QUARTER CATALYST
KSU used a 24-14 second quarter to take a 39-31 lead to the break at Georgia State. The Owls are outscoring teams by a combined 35 points in the second quarter and have won 11 straight games dating back to Jan. 16, 2025, when leading at the half.
POWER IN THE PAINT
KSU has outscored opponents in the paint in each of the nine games, averaging 36.9 paint points and winning the battle down low by an average of 11.3 points per game. The Owls have also outscored opponents in second chance points in eight games, averaging 11.9 points in the category.
CLOSE CONTESTS
Four of KSU's nine games have been decided by single digits, including three by a single point. The Owls are 3-1 in games decided by nine points or fewer and 2-1 in one-point games.
KEYARAH'S CLIMB
Berry, a graduate student from Rockmart, Georgia, can cap her final season in Kennesaw ranked inside the top 10 all-time in program history in numerous individual career statistical categories.
The Rockmart High School product currently ranks fourth in the Division I era (2005-pres.) with 269 career free throw attempts and ninth with 171 career free throws made. Berry is eight games shy of being 10
th in career games played and 69 points from entering the top 10
in career scoring.
KNOW THE FOE
Miami is led by second-year head coach Tricia Cullop and was picked to finish eighth in the ACC Preseason Poll. The Hurricanes share common opponents with KSU in Florida Atlantic (W, 79-47) and Georgia State (W, 99-46). Three of Miami's four losses came to then-ranked teams in Iowa, Oklahoma State and Kentucky.
The Hurricanes (7-4, 1-1) are coming off a 64-61 win at Wake Forest on Thursday and are led by three scorers averaging double figures in center Ra Shaya Kyle (14.5) and guards Gal Raviv (12.9) and Amarachi Kimpson (11.3).
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season and single-game tickets are available for the 2025-26 Kennesaw State women's basketball campaign. Click
here to secure your seat inside VyStar Arena and don't miss a second of the action!
The Owls Fund
The Owls Fund is the primary fundraising arm of Kennesaw State Athletics with the goal of supporting our student-athletes, coaches and each of our 18 NCAA Division I programs. Through initiatives such as Legacy Lockers, the Dot Martin Scholarship Golf Classic, sport-specific giving opportunities, general donations and season tickets, The Owls Fund connects fans with KSU's programs and student-athletes. Members receive exclusive benefits such as hospitality seating areas and events at Kennesaw State home games, and more. Join The Owls Fund here and discover more opportunities on how you can support Kennesaw State Athletics.
