By: Joseph Hovey
Kennesaw State (10-8, 3-4 CUSA) at Louisiana Tech (13-5, 6-1 CUSA)
Ruston, LA | Thomas Assembly Center | Thursday, Jan. 29 | 7:30 p.m. EST
KENNESAW, Ga. — After last week's wins over UTEP and New Mexico State, Kennesaw State women's basketball aims to continue its conference play momentum as it faces Louisiana Tech on Thursday in Ruston, Louisiana.
STANDINGS STATUS
After going 2-0 a week ago, the Owls jumped from ninth to seventh in Conference USA. LA Tech enters Thursday on a six-game winning streak and atop the league standings. The Lady Techsters are currently a top 100 team in the NET rankings and were picked to win the CUSA in the preseason.
WINS OVER MINERS, AGGIES
KSU not only notched two conference wins last week but did so in style, with its combined 46-point margin of victory over both games, the largest of the week in CUSA. The 31-point win over UTEP on Jan. 22 gave the Owls their largest margin of victory in a conference game since 2024. Saturday's defeat of New Mexico State marked KSU's first string of consecutive double-digit wins since the 2022-23 season. A win over LA Tech would give the Owls their first three-game winning streak since January 11-18, 2024.
THIRTY-ONE FOR BERRY
Keyarah Berry led all CUSA players a week ago with 44 combined points over two games, highlighted by a career-high 31 points in the 70-55 win over the Aggies. Berry is the fifth CUSA player this season to cross the 30-point threshold in a game. Thirty-one points are tied for the third-most scored by a CUSA player this season. The graduate student from Rockmart, Georgia, has now scored a career high in two of the Owls' last four games, with her previous high of 27 coming at FIU on Jan. 10.
Berry enters Thursday's game ranked top 10 in CUSA in five different categories, including second in field goals (106), fourth in field goal percentage (48.2) and sixth in scoring at 15 points per game. With her 104
th game in an Owl uniform on Jan. 24, Berry moved into the top 10 at KSU in Division I-era (2005-pres.) career games played. Berry is 16 points from surpassing Ashley Holliday (2009-13) for eighth in KSU DI-era career scoring and four steals removed from overtaking Jennifer Baker (2005-09) for 10
th in career steals.
TAYLOR'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Forward
Trynce Taylor averaged 12 rebounds a week ago with a career-high of 15 in a 12-point, double-double performance against NM State. Taylor's first double-double of the season and third of her career comes as she has registered five or more rebounds in 13 of 18 games.
FIELDS THE FLOOR GENERAL
Point guard
Kailyn Fields is coming off a career-high nine-assist outing versus the Aggies. Fields' nine helpers are the second-most in a CUSA game this season. The junior from Atlanta ranks top 10 in the league in assists per game (4.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and minutes per game (33.8).
STOVALL STRONG
True freshman forward
TaTianna Stovall's collegiate career is off to a strong start as she enters the week leading CUSA with 27 blocks through 18 games. Stovall is the league's only player this season with multiple games of five or more denials and holds the conference-high with six at Georgia State on Dec. 14. The Cleveland, Tennessee native is one block shy of tying Christine Wylie (2010-11) for ninth in KSU DI-era single-season blocks. Stovall's minutes are also coming with increased effectiveness on the glass. The Owl forward has 11 games of five or more rebounds, including the last five straight outings.
THE MATCHUP
Thursday's game pits the top two shooting offenses in the league against each other. KSU's offense comes in shooting a CUSA-leading 44.4% from the field, with LA Tech a close second at 44.3%. The Owls (34.6%) and Lady Techsters (32.8%) also rank second and third, respectively, in the conference in 3-point shooting. Fast break and paint scoring were key to KSU's success a week ago. The Owls outscored NM State 20-8 in the fast break, their fourth game this season with 20-plus. KSU combined to go +22 in paint scoring against the Miners and Aggies and is now +140 on the season in the paint.
The Owls are the only team in CUSA ranked in the top 4 in both scoring offense and defense. LA Tech leads the league in scoring at 74.9 points per game and in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.04. KSU will look to test the Lady Techsters ball security after forcing a combined 42 turnovers a week ago.
FIRST QUARTER CATALYST
After ending five-straight first quarters with a deficit, the Owls executed their two highest-scoring first quarters of the season last week with 24 and 21 points. KSU also allowed a season-low six first-quarter points versus NM State. For the season, the Owls are 7-1 when leading after one as well as 42-19 in the
Octavia Blue era.
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday marks the third all-time meeting between KSU and LA Tech. The Owls split the two meetings last season with an 83-71 loss in Ruston on January 18, 2025, and a 79-72 win in Kennesaw on Feb. 13.
KNOW THE FOE
After opening CUSA play with a 67-64 loss at Sam Houston, the Lady Techsters have won six-straight, most recently at Missouri State (60-51) and at FIU (74-59). LA Tech is led by 10
th-year head coach Brooke Stoehr and preseason all-conference selections in guard Paris Bradley and forward Jordan Marshall. The tandem leads the Lady Techsters with 15 and 12 points per game, respectively.
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.
