GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: Jan. 18, 2024
TIME: 7:00 PM |
LOCATION: Edmunds Center
DeLand, Fla. |
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GAME DAY LINK
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LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
The Stetson Hatters will continue their home stand after falling to the FGCU Eagles in their last outing on Saturday, putting an end to a four game winning streak. The Hatters will host the Kennesaw State Owls at 7:00 PM on Thursday, Jan. 18 at the historic Edmunds Center. All the action will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on www.gohatters.com.
INSIDE THE SERIES
This will be the 41st meeting between the two conference foes. Through their previous 40 games, the Hatters lead in the series with a 32-8 record. On the road, Stetson has not been deterred, holding a 16-3 record but equally as impressive is their 15-5 record when defending home court against the Owls. Stetson enters the game on a one game losing skid against Kennesaw State after dropping their last meeting on Feb. 25, 2023, a 57-70 loss on the road. The series first began back on Jan. 28, 2006 when the Hatters won the inaugural game 72-64 at home. Throughout their history, the Hatters have scored 2,670 total points against Kennesaw State, 66.75 points per game.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (7-10, 2-1 ASUN)
Stetson approaches the weekend with an overall record of 7-10, having fell to FGCU last Saturday. The loss put an end to a four game win streak by the Hatters that included a 2-0 start to conference play. It was also only the second home loss of the season for Stetson, who holds a 5-2 record in DeLand.
Leading the Hatters on offense in their last game was
Jamiya Turner, who tallied 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting while hitting six shots from the charity stripe. The redshirt-senior guard continued her well-rounded play with a pair of rebounds and a pair of assists, as well.
So far this season, the offensive output for Stetson has been fronted by Turner, who maintains a team-leading 189 points, 11.1 per game. Turner showcases a 44 percent shooting accuracy from the field (74 of 168) and a 70.7 percent clip from the free-throw line, 10th highest in the ASUN. The redshirt-senior has reached milestones such as 500 career rebounds and 1,000 career points as she has racked up double-figures for the 11th time this season. On defense, she has recorded a steal in 13 games including the last five straight.
Khamya McNeal averages nine points a game while making 11 starts in 17 appearances this season. The redshirt-junior has made 54-of-164 shot attempts, 32.9 percent from the field, including a team-high 17 three-pointers. McNeal has also contributed 32 assists while pulling in 2.7 rebounds per game.
Jordan Peete, with 13 starts in 16 appearances this season, averages 8.5 points per game, making 15 of 59 shots from beyond the arc. While hitting a three-pointer in 11 games this season, she trails only McNeal in shots made from a distance.
Promise Keshi leads the team in steals, contributing 21 steals, 18th most in the conference. Kunzwiler has recorded seven blocks, most on the team, while Keshi and freshman forward
Sophia Fontaine have each blocked six shots. The former has blocked a pair of shots in the team's last outing.
Talley has excelled on the glass, leading the Hatters with 116 total rebounds, 6.8 per game. Her 65 offensive rebounds rank second-most in the ASUN and she ranks fourth in total boards, as well. The sophomore forward is also tied for 15th most in all of NCAA.
Skylar Treadwell has pulled in 92 rebounds on the season after grabbing 21 against High Point earlier this season.
As a team, Stetson averages 58.2 points per game, as opposed to a conference fourth fewest average points allowed (60.7), on 367-986 shooting from the field (37.2%) and 69-311 from three-point range. They exhibit a conference fifth-best free-throw percentage of 69 percent (187-271) and boast an ASUN fifth-most 626 total rebounds, 36.8 rebounds per game. Stetson has forced opponents into 290 turnovers and capitalized on them with 12.5 points off turnovers.
SCOUTING THE OWLS (7-9, 3-0 ASUN)
Kennesaw State currently holds a record of 7-9, sitting third place in the ASUN Conference standings after winning their last three games. Their season included tough opponents such as Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and San Diego State and signature wins over Florida Atlantic and Providence.
They also started conference play on a 3-0 run after defeating Queens University of Charlotte, North Florida and Jacksonville, all of which were at home.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches selected Kennesaw State to finish in fifth with 84 points after finishing the prior season with a 10-8 conference record. The Owls are coming off a 15-16 campaign that saw Octavia Blue's squad fall to Liberty in the Quarterfinals of the ASUN Tournament after defeating Jacksonville State in the opening round. Looking to build off of last season, the Owls average 54.7 points per game and have been outscored by their opponents by an average of 4.7 points.
As a team, they have a shooting percentage of 36.1 percent from the field (330-913) and 22.4 percent from beyond the arc (43-192). The Owls are rebounding at an average of 38.6 per game with a +4.7 margin and distributing 9.9 assists.
On the defensive end, they've held opponents an even 40 percent clip from the field (346-865) and 30.7 percent from three-point range (79-257), 6th and 5th in the ASUN. The defense has also forced 282 turnovers, scoring 15.4 points off them, while tallying 145 steals and 63 blocks.
Junior forward Prencis Harden, last week's ASUN Player of the Week, has averaged 13.9 points per game while starting all 15 games she's appeared in. The Georgia native also leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor.
Senior guard Carly Hooks has also started 15 games, averaging 9.7 points per game while hitting 11 three-pointers, tied with Sophia Rueppel for most on the team. She trails only Kailyn Fields in passing as she's dished out 32 assists this season. Hooks has pulled in an average of four boards a game while leading the Owls with 22 steals on defense.
Freshman forward Trynce Taylor has led the second unit with 7.3 points on average in 16 appearances. She's pulled in 75 rebounds, 4.7 per game, while recording 20 steals and eight blocks.
Eight different Owls have tallied 10 or more steals this season including senior forward/center Kyndall Golden, who leads the conference with 32 blocks.
NEXT UP
Stetson will continue their home stand by hosting Queens University of Charlotte for the Play for Kay - Pink Out Game presented by AdventHealth. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday, Jan. 20. All the action will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on www.gohatters.com.
