By: Joseph Hovey
Liberty (11-10, 5-5 CUSA) at Kennesaw State (10-11, 3-7 CUSA)
Kennesaw, GA | VyStar Arena | Saturday, Feb. 7 | 2 p.m. EST
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's basketball looks to bounce back from an overtime loss to Delaware when it hosts Liberty on Saturday at VyStar Arena. Owl Nation is invited to gather at Saturday's Pink Game and join in the fight against cancer.
STANDINGS STATUS
With Thursday's loss, KSU dropped to 10
th in the Conference USA standings. The top 10 teams in the league advance to the CUSA Tournament March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama.
Liberty enters Saturday sixth in the Conference USA standings after winning consecutive games versus Missouri State (60-52) on Feb. 1 and at Jax State (60-55) on Feb. 5. The Lady Flames were picked to finish second in the league in the preseason poll.
HISTORICALLY CLOSE
KSU fell 65-60 to Delaware on Thursday night in one of the most tightly contested games in CUSA history.
The Owls led 58-56 before UD hit two overtime-forcing free throws with one second remaining in regulation. Both teams combined for two field goals in the extra period, but UD pulled away with five late free throws. KSU had a chance to send the game to double overtime with 24 seconds to play, but came up empty with a missed 3-pointer.
Since NCAA women's basketball moved to four-quarter games in the 2015-16 season, Thursday's KSU-UD game was the first involving a CUSA team in which the game was tied at half, the end of the third quarter and the end of regulation.
In all, the game totaled 18 ties, nine lead changes and 10 minutes of tied game time. Neither team led by more than five at any point.
THE MATCHUP
The KSU-Liberty matchup features two teams ranked in the top 3 of CUSA in field goal percentage, with the Owls' 43.7 narrowly eclipsing the Lady Flames' 42.7. Both rank in the upper third of the league in 3-point efficiency, with Liberty leading the way at 36.4% and KSU fourth at 33%. The Owls rank fourth in CUSA in steals (9.7) and turnovers forced (19.9), while the Lady Flames are last in the league with a turnover margin of -4.2.
WILLIAMSON SURGING
Despite the loss on Thursday, Owl forward
Latazia Williamson turned in a 19-point, nine-rebound performance to help lead KSU against UD. Williamson has seven double-figure scoring games this season and has a combined 45 points and 11 blocks over her last three outings.
"I think Latazia has really turned it on here in conference play," said KSU head coach
Octavia Blue following Thursday's game. "She's dominant. She plays really hard. That's not only in the game. She comes to practice, and she brings it."
FIELDS THE FLOOR GENERAL
Point guard
Kailyn Fields co-led the Owls with 19 points against the Blue Hens. Fields recorded her third game with four or more 3-pointers made and seventh game of four or more steals this season. The junior from Atlanta ranks third in CUSA in both assists (4.2) and minutes per game (34.2).
INTERIOR PRESENCE
KSU tied a season-high with seven team blocks against the Blue Hens. Five different players recorded a block, with Williamson and
Trynce Taylor leading the way at two apiece.
The Owls continue to lead the conference with 4.2 blocks per game, spearheaded by
TaTianna Stovall's second-leading 28 for the season. Stovall has tallied two games of five or more blocks, including a CUSA-high of six at Georgia State on Dec. 14. The freshman forward is one block removed from ninth at KSU in Division I-era (2005-pres.) single-season swats.
APPROACHING 1000
With eight points versus UD,
Keyarah Berry is 20 away from reaching the 1000 mark for her career. Each of Berry's 980 points has come at KSU. Berry is also five free throw makes shy of seventh at KSU in DI-era career free throws made. One takeaway is all that stands between Berry and top 10 in the program's DI history in career steals.
SERIES HISTORY
KSU seeks its first win over Liberty on Saturday. The former ASUN foes met twice in 2025, with the Lady Flames winning both games, 74-39 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and 71-69 in Kennesaw. The March 1, 2025 one-score game featured late dramatics with the Owls'
Carly Hooks hitting two free throws with six seconds to play and Liberty's Bella Smuda scoring a winning layup as time expired.
KNOW THE FOE
Head coach Alexis Sherard leads Liberty in his first season as head coach following nearly two decades as an assistant with the Lady Flames. Guard Avery Mills and center Emmy Stout lead Liberty in scoring at 15.7 and 14 points per game, respectively.
KSU women's basketball will celebrate the fight and resilience of cancer patients and survivors at their 2026 Pink Game on Saturday versus Liberty.
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.
