By: Joseph Hovey
Kennesaw State (12-15, 5-11 CUSA) at UTEP (13-13, 5-10 CUSA)
El Paso, TX | Don Haskins Center | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 4 p.m. EST
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball plays its penultimate regular-season game on Saturday in a high-stakes road matchup with UTEP.
STANDINGS STATUS
The Owls' 52-40 loss to New Mexico State on Thursday coincided with the Miners defeating Jax State 66-64 on a game-winner with four seconds to play.
This pair of results sent KSU to 11
th in the Conference USA standings. The top 10 teams in the league advance to the 2026 Air National Guard CUSA Women's Basketball Championship held March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama.
Saturday's KSU-UTEP game holds significant postseason implications for both teams. The Owls must win to retake their top 10 spot in the standings and place in the tourney from UTEP. A Miner win would further mire KSU in 11th.
UTEP ROUND TWO
The Owls have enjoyed nothing but success against UTEP since becoming conference counterparts in 2025. KSU has won each of the four previous meetings, including an 83-52 victory in Kennesaw on Jan. 22.
The 31-point win over the Miners is the Owls' largest margin of victory in two years of CUSA play. KSU dominated the game in assists (15-4), rebounding (44-29) and points in the paint (46-28). The Owls took care of the ball with just 13 turnovers, resulting in eight UTEP points. KSU, meanwhile, scored 24 points on 17 Miner giveaways.
THE WESTERN FRONT
The road trip to NM State and UTEP is the Owls' longest of the season, with a combined round-trip air and drive mileage of 2,647.6. KSU previously traveled 2,516 air miles in a weekend on its road swing to Missouri State and FIU.
PROOF IN THE PAINT
KSU has scored 25 or more points in the paint in 24 of 27 games and is +156 in the category on the season. Eleven of the Owls' 12 wins have come when outscoring their opponent in the paint. KSU went +18 in the paint against the Miners on Jan. 22.
ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER
The Owls started strong against NM State on Thursday, breaking out to a 20-11 first-quarter lead, including 18-4 through the first eight minutes. KSU recorded five assists on seven field goals alongside six turnovers in the first quarter versus the Aggies. The rest of the way, the Owls would total one assist on nine field goals with 21 turnovers.
Assists have been a catalyst for KSU's success this season, with eleven of 12 wins coming in games with 13 or more helpers. The Owls are 1-11 when totaling under 13 assists.
The absence of injured point guard
Kailyn Fields is felt particularly strongly when it comes to KSU sharing the ball. Even with seven games missed due to injury, Fields leads the team in assists and ranks sixth in CUSA with 87 on the season at 4.4. per game.
STOVALL STRONG
Despite the Owls' struggles of late, freshman forward
TaTianna Stovall has continued to be a bright spot on both ends of the floor.
Stovall has played in all 27 games, coming off the bench in 23, to average 6.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Her 41 blocks on the season co-lead CUSA with Lainie Douglas of Missouri State and make her one of just 10 freshmen nationally with 40-plus swats.
Stovall's 28 steals also make her one of seven freshmen across the country to record 40-plus blocks and 25-plus steals this year. She is the only player in CUSA with such a defensive stat line. Four more blocks stand between Stovall and climbing to third and 10
th, respectively, at KSU Division I-era (2005-pres.) and all-time single-season swats.
SCORES+STEALS = KB
Keyarah Berry will play in her 115
th career game at KSU on Saturday, enough for sixth in the program's DI era. With two steals in El Paso, Berry can surpass Gia Lockett (2006-10) for seventh in the era's career steals rankings. Five more field goals will also bring Berry to seventh in DI-era career field goals made.
Berry's 12 points and three steals in Las Cruces give her 11 games this season with 10-plus points and three or more steals. She joins FIU's Parris Atkins and Rhema Collins as the only three in the league to rank top 10 in steals and scoring.
KNOW THE FOE
Head coach Keitha Adams leads the Miners in her 19
th season. Adams' team features leading scorers in guards Portia Adams' 10.9 points per game and Ivane Tensaie's 10.3.
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.
