By: Joseph Hovey
Sam Houston (15-8, 8-4 CUSA) at Kennesaw State (12-12, 5-8 CUSA)
Kennesaw, GA | VyStar Arena | Thursday, February 19 | 7 p.m. EST
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball begins the final week of its home schedule as it hosts Sam Houston in its annual Blue Game on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Owl Nation can join in the celebration of head coach
Octavia Blue with a Blue Game rally towel. The first 150 fans in attendance on Thursday will receive the exclusive item.
STANDINGS STATUS
After splitting its road games at WKU and Middle Tennessee a week ago, KSU remains ninth in the Conference USA standings. The top 10 teams at the end of the regular season advance to the 2026 Air National Guard CUSA Women's Basketball Championship held March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Owls' current ninth-place position would put them in a No. 8 versus No. 9-seed first-round matchup on March 10 at 12:30 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
Fresh off facing the league's No. 2 team in MTSU on Feb. 14, KSU now faces a week with the No. 3 and No. 1 teams coming to town. The gauntlet begins with third-place Sam Houston on Thursday.
Since defeating the Owls on Jan. 1, the Bearkats have split their last four games and are coming off a week in which they beat Missouri State 74-67 and lost 67-65 to FIU.
SHSU ROUND TWO
The fourth all-time meeting between KSU and SHSU comes less than three weeks after the Bearkats edged the Owls 62-57 in Huntsville, Texas. The Jan. 31 game saw KSU fight back from a 15-point deficit to trail 56-54 with 1:20 to go.
Despite their defense holding the Bearkats scoreless from the field over the game's final six minutes, the Owls were unable to overcome late missed shots and foul trouble as SHSU pulled away for the win.
KSU outshot the Bearkats 42-29% from the field but was hampered by a 43-30 rebounding disparity and 25 turnovers, resulting in 23 SHSU points.
Latazia Williamson led the Owls in Huntsville with a career-high 20 points and five blocks.
OUTSTANDING FIELDS
Kailyn Fields tallied a team-high five assists against the Blue Raiders on Feb. 14. Fields now has nine games this season and 14 for her career with five or more helpers. The Owl point guard leads all CUSA players in minutes played per game at 35 while ranking third in the league with 4.4 assists per game.
With Fields at the controls of the KSU offense, the team ranks fourth in the conference with 13 assists per game. Fields is the only CUSA player with multiple games of nine or more assists this season.
BERRY KEY
Keyarah Berry's six points at MTSU marked just her fifth game scoring below double figures in 24 played this season. KSU is 1-4 in such games, while 11 of its 12 wins have come with Berry scoring 10 or more points.
Berry ranks second in CUSA in field goal percentage (48.2) and total field goals (134), as well as sixth in scoring average (14.1) and total points (338). With Berry charging the offense, the Owls rank second in the league in field goal percentage at 44%.
Berry has a nose for the ball on defense as well, with her 52 steals for the season, the most in the Blue era. The Rockmart, Georgia native is one takeaway from climbing to eighth at KSU in Division I-era (2005-pres.) career steals.
SISTERS OF SWAT
Forwards
TaTianna Stovall and
Latazia Williamson lead an Owl frontcourt atop CUSA with 4.2 blocks per game. Stovall and Williamson make KSU the only team in the league with two different players recording more than 25 blocks for the season, as well as the only squad with multiple players recording three different games of five or more blocks.
Both Stovall and Williamson are set to finish the season ranked in the top 10 at KSU in DI-era single-season blocks.
GETTING A LEAD, KEEPING A LEAD
Each of the Owls' last four wins has come when holding a lead at the end of the first quarter. The Owls are 9-1 when leading after the first quarter compared to 3-11 when trailing. KSU is also 10-1 when leading at the half and 11-0 when leading into the fourth quarter.
KNOW THE FOE
Eighth-year head coach Ravon Justice's SHSU squad is led by three double-figure scorers in guard Fanta Kone (12.5), as well as forwards Deborah Ogayemi (11.8) and Nyla Inmon (10.1).
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.
