By: Joseph Hovey
Kennesaw State (12-11, 5-7 CUSA) at Middle Tennessee (13-11, 8-4 CUSA)
Murfreesboro, TN | Murphy Center | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 5 p.m. EST
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball looks for its third straight win when it faces Middle Tennessee on the road on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST.
STANDINGS STATUS
Following Thursday's win at WKU, KSU remains in ninth in the Conference USA standings, retaining position for a berth in the league's 2026 tournament held March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. The top 10 CUSA teams at regular season's end advance to the postseason event.
At 8-4 in conference play, MTSU is third in the standings. The Blue Raiders are coming off a 57-48 win over Jax State on Thursday. MTSU jumped out to a 4-0 start in league play but has since gone 4-4.
MTSU ROUND TWO
KSU opened CUSA play versus MTSU at VyStar Arena on Jan. 2. The Blue Raiders pulled away for a 60-47 win after scoring 21 points off 20 Owl turnovers.
Trynce Taylor led KSU with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Latazia Williamson and
Kaelyn Flowers added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Saturday is the eighth all-time meeting between the Owls and Blue Raiders. KSU enters the game seeking its first-ever win over MTSU.
TENNESSEE ROOTS
Five of 13 women on the Owls' roster hail from the Volunteer State. Saturday's game is a homecoming for KSU guard and Murfreesboro native
Kaelyn Flowers. A Blackman High School product, Flowers' Blaze career was highlighted by her 2022 District 7A Player of the Year award.
STOVALL, MCCLINIC & MTSU
Saturday provides a particularly unique homecoming opportunity for KSU freshman forward
TaTianna Stovall and assistant coach
Keisha McClinic.
Stovall is the daughter of former Blue Raider Tia Stovall. McClinic and Tia Stovall were teammates and college roommates at MTSU from 2002 to 2004. McClinic concluded her MTSU career with a then-record 120 career games played, 246 career steals and as the 2004 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.
BERRY RACKING UP STEALS & POINTS
With six seconds to play at WKU,
Keyarah Berry recorded a game-sealing steal for her career-high seventh takeaway of the game. Berry's seven steals against the Lady Toppers are tied for the second-most in a CUSA game this season and set a new
Octavia Blue-era high at KSU.
Berry also led the Owls with 17 points and eight rebounds, all after briefly exiting the game in the first quarter following a hard fall when fouled in transition. With her second bucket of the game, Berry breached the 1000-point mark for her career. The Rockmart, Georgia native played three games at Indiana in 2021-22, but all of her now 1,014 points have come as an Owl.
Berry enters Saturday's game two steals shy (116) of climbing to eighth at KSU in Division I-era (2005-pres.) career steals. Berry's bout with MTSU marks the 111
th game of her KSU career, good for eighth in DI-era games played.
SWAT TEAM
Stovall and
Latazia Williamson rank second and fourth in CUSA, respectively, with 31 and 27 blocks on the season. With her 27
th on Thursday, Williamson moved into the top 10 at KSU in DI-era single-season blocks. The defensive duo is on track to become just the second pair in program history to each record 30 or more blocks in a season.
Behind the interior presence of Stovall and Williamson, the Owls lead the league in opponent field goal percentage at 38.2.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
Four consecutive KSU games have been decided by single digits, with Thursday's win giving it a 5-4 season record in such games. Thursday was the first this season in which the Owls came back to win after trailing entering the fourth quarter. KSU has won its last 15 straight when taking a lead into the fourth.
TURNING POINT IN THE PAINT
The Owls outscored WKU 40-32 in the paint, their seventh time this season with 40 or more paint points and 15
th time outscoring their opponent in the category. Rebounding and second-chance points were gamechangers for KSU. The Owls tallied 39 boards to WKU's 27, including a 12-6 advantage on the offensive glass. KSU also outscored the Lady Toppers 10-4 in second-chance points.
Eleven of 12 Owl wins this season have come when outscoring opponents in the paint. KSU is 9-3 when holding an advantage in second-chance scoring.
KNOW THE FOE
MTSU head coach Rick Insell is in his 21
st season with the program. Insell's squad is led by three guards averaging double figures, with Alayna Contreras' 13 per game, Blair Baugus at 12.7 and Macie Phifer's 10.2.
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.
