Last Time Out:
The Eagles opened their three-game road trip with wins over North Alabama (68-52) and UNF (105-66). Currently, the Eagles sit in first place in the A-SUN and as a result of their week, the Eagles moved up in the polls as they moved to #5 in the Collegeinsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major Poll.
Offensively, junior Nasrin Ulel and redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles lead the Eagles offensively.
Ulel is averaging 15.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Against UNA, Ulel was held to nine points and three rebounds, but against UNF, she had 18 points and a rebound while adding two blocks. With her 18 points, Ulel has 689 in her career and passed DyTiesha Dunson (673, 2012-16: 19th), Robyn Swain (675, 2002-04: 18th) and Delia De La Torre (683, 2006-08: 17th). Ulel now sits 17th all-time with two more upcoming milestones in sight: becoming the 17th player to reach 700 career points and surpass Andrea Clarke (726, 2003-05) for 16th all-time.
The Empress of Assists:
Now earning the title of "Empress of Assists" is redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka. Zderadicka is averaging 9.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. Against UNA, Zderadicka had 14 points and five assists, while against against UNF, she earnd something that she never had, even at Houston Baptist: her first collegiate double-double. The Vienna, Austria native posted 15 points and 10 assists against UNF. Zderadicka's 10 assists was a career-high for her and now has 311 career assists, including the 152 assists with Houston Baptist. Zderadicka became the fourth player to record double-digit assists against an A-SUN opponent as her 10 assists tied with Brittany Kennedy (12), associate head coach Chelsea Banbury (10) and Shannon Murphy (10 twice) for the fifth most in a single game.
The Rebound Queens:
As far as rebounding, leading the way for the Eagles in the category are junior Tytionia Adderly and redshirt senior Destiny Washington.
Adderly is averaging 5.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Adderly had eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal against UNA while against UNF she had five points and 11 rebounds (two offensive, nine defensive). Adderly has 280 career offensive rebounds and is 50 shy of passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader while for defensive rebounds, she has 405 in her career as she passed Robyn Swain (404, 2002-14) for fifth all-time. In overall rebounds, Adderly's has 685 (3rd all-time) and is now trails only Whitney Knight (735, 2nd all-time) and Sarah Hansen (887, all-time leader). In addition, Adderly is 13 points shy of reaching 500 career points.
Meanwhile, Washington is averaging 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Loyola Chicago/Ball State transfer had two straight double-doubles against UNA (20 points and 11 rebounds) and UNF (10 points and 10 rebounds). As a result, Washington was named A-SUN Newcomer of the Week for the second straight time.
"Des has just been playing better and better," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "She is starting to see her opportunities to make plays, and she is making the most of them."
She Got Smarts:
despite not being able to play against UNF due to an injury she suffered against UNA, redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan continues to "make it rain" inside the classroom (no pun intended). Ryan, who is averaging 8.9 points per game, was named FGCU's Scholar-Athlete of the Month for the month of December. A criminal justice major, Ryan carries a 3.81 GPA and will graduate this semester with Magna Cum Laude honors after just three years.
"Chandler is an excellent student who takes her academics very seriously," said Smesko. "She's also performed well on the court this season."
Milestones:
The trio of Zderadicka, Washington and Wingate continue to trend toward 1,000 points in their NCAA careers (Zderadicka, 940; Washington, 893; Wingate, 740).
Another milestone for Washington is in rebounds. Washington currently has 593 career rebounds and is seven shy of reaching 600.
Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls are coming off of 67-61 loss to Liberty and sit seventh in conference. This was their first loss at home this season.
Offensively, sophomores Kamiyah Street and Alexis Poole lead the way for the Owls.
Street is averaging 16.4 points per game. Against Liberty, the former A-SUN Freshman of the Year had 16 points. This was her ninth straight game scoring in double digits.
Poole averages almost a double-double per game as she is averaging 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Against Liberty, Poole recorded her eighth double-double as she finished with a career-high 27 points and 15 rebounds and became the first player since Allison Johnson (Savannah State – Nov. 26, 2016) to record 15 or more rebounds.
Freshman Amani Johnson and junior Carlotta Gianolla also play big roles for the Owls.
Johnson is averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. Johnson had 10 points and six assists against Liberty.
Gianolla is averaging 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Gianolla had five points and one rebound against Liberty.
Series History:
The Eagles are 22-2 against the Owls. The last time both teams met was on February 22, 2018 at the Alico Arena where the Eagles won 78-51. The Owls last win against the Eagles was on February 14, 2011 where they won 63-52 at the KSU Convocation Center.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air on ESPN+. Commentary will be done by play-by-play commentator Nathan McCreary, color commentator Autumn Johnson and sideline reporter and Brooke Moore.
Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Kennesaw: @KSUOWLSWBB
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.
Link to Livestats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=237674&vislive=fguu
Link to Livestream: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/62e239d1-a5be-4a7e-a5be-5c8c7757b5d3/florida-gulf-coast-vs-kennesaw-state
No comments:
Post a Comment