Women's Basketball 1/21/2020 10:00:00 AM

Women's Basketball Travels to Franklin Pierce for a Battle of the Birds

Southern Connecticut State University Women's Basketball (8-9, 2-7 NE10)
at Franklin Pierce University (7-9, 1-8 NE10)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 22
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: The Fieldhouse (Rindge, N.H.)
Live Video | Live Stats

vs. Stonehill College (11-4, 7-2 NE10)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 25
Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Moore Field House (New Haven, Conn.)
Live Video | Live Stats

The Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team will play two cross-divisional games this week, one on the road and one at home. The Owls will travel to Franklin Pierce on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to face the Ravens at the Fieldhouse in Rindge, N.H. Southern Connecticut will then host Stonehill on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Matchup Preview
SCSU is coming off a conference win at home against Saint Michael's on Jan. 18, while the Ravens are also coming off a conference win at home of Saint Rose. The matchup will feature some key conference players from both squads.

Imani Wheeler has been a key component for the Owls this season. In her past five games, she averages 16.0 points per game, 5.4 assists per game and 2.6 steals per game. She also averages 48% from three-point range and 41% from the field.
Franklin Pierce has two players in the top ten in points per game in junior guard Sophia Holmes (15.6) and sophomore forward Izzy Lipinski (14.8), a Farmington, Conn. native.

Follow the Owls
For the latest news, scores and highlights as well as up-to-the-minute schedule changes or announcements, visit SouthernCTOwls.com/SCSUWBB. In addition, in-game highlights will be available on the Official Twitter Account of SCSU Women's Basketball, @SCSU_WBB.

All-Time Against Franklin Pierce: 19-33
The Last Time They Met: The Owls defeated Franklin Pierce, 72-62 on Jan. 23, 2019. Kiana Steinauer led the offense collecting her 15th double-double of the season with 27 points and 18 rebounds; shooting 47% from the field, while chipping in a game-high three steals and three assists. Imani Wheeler notched 22 points with a team-high four assists and two steals, while Aaliyah Walker chipped in eight points and a steal for the Owls.

All-Time Against Stonehill: 13-17
The Last Time They Met: The Owls defeated Stonehill College, 73-69 at Merkert Gymnasium in North Easton, Mass. Amanda Pfohl led the Owls with 24 points, tying a career-best, while shooting 71% from beyond the arc and 64% from the field. She added two assists and two steals. Kiana Steinauer broke an SCSU record in steals with 10. In addition, she notched 16 points, a team-leading eight rebounds and four blocks. Allie Smith collected 17 points and a block. As a team, the Owls shot 52.9% from beyond the arc and 44.8% from the field.

Last Time Out

The Owls defeated Saint Michael's College, 54-51 at Moore Field House on Jan. 18.
Senior Imani Wheeler collected a game-high 16 points, four assists and three steals, while shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range and 6-for-13 from the field.
Freshman Amani Boston tallied nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Senior Paula Tattari notched a career-high 10 points and two blocks.
Redshirt freshman Alexa Kellner tallied seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Team Notes

SCSU is third in the NE10 in steals per game with an average of 9.1.
Southern Connecticut is second in the conference in three-pointers made with 138.
The Owls average the second least number of turnovers per game in the conference and are ranked 22nd in NCAA DII women's basketball with 13.2 per game.
The team is also 28th in the nation in turnover margin with a margin of 4.82 (224-306).

Player Notes

Imani Wheeler has recorded double-digit points in five straight games with 16 points against Saint Michael's and has tallied four or more assists in five-straight games.
Wheeler has snagged three or more steals in three of her last four games played.
Wheeler is ninth in NCAA DII in steals with 53 and 15th in steals per game (3.12).
Alexa Kellner recorded a career-high five assists against Saint Michael's. Her previous career-high was four against Dec. 14.
Jessica Fressle is ranked 45th in NCAA DII with free throw percentage of 86.

The Owls in the NE10

Imani Wheeler is first in the conference in steals per game with 3.1 and second in total steals with 53.
Jessica Fressle is 11th in total points with 226 and 12th in points per game with 13.3.
Fressle is ninth in free throws, going 49-for-57 on the season and is fifth in free throw percentage of 86.
Two Owls rank in the top ten in minutes per game as Imani Wheeler averages a conference-high 37.9 minutes per game, while Alexa Kellner is eighth and averages 33.2 minutes per game.
Wheeler has seen the most minutes in the conference clocking a total of 644 minutes on the floor this season.

Season Notes

Kiana Steinauer is now up 1,065 career points, ranking 18th all-time in program history.
Steinauer's 50 rebounds this season puts her seven away from breaking the 1,000 mark in rebounds. She previously broke 1,000 points in the Owls game against Bridgeport on Nov. 9.
With four steals against New York Tech on Nov. 20, Imani Wheeler hit the 150 career steals marker. Her 39 steals this season put her at 175 career steals. She broke a career-high in the Owls game against AIC on Nov. 26 with eight.
Alexa Kellner's five steals against New Haven was a career-high. Her previous career-high was on Nov. 9 against Bridgeport when she had two.
Aaliyah Walker notched a career-high 12 rebounds against Saint Rose on Dec. 11. Her previous career-high was set on Nov. 25, 2018 when she had eight rebounds against Queens College.
Ednaija Lassiter collected her first career double-double as an Owl with 16 points and 14 rebounds against Chestnut Hill on Dec. 14, both of which were career-highs. Both of her career-highs were set against Saint Rose on Dec. 10 when she collected 10 points and eight rebounds.
Seven rebounds against Chestnut Hill are a career-high for Imani Wheeler. Her previous career-high was set on Dec. 4, 2018 against American International and was tied on three occasions during the 2018-19 season.
Imani Wheeler's 11 assists against Saint Thomas Aquinas are a career-high. Her previous career-high was nine assists on Nov. 10, 2018 against Post.
Alexa Kellner's 15 points were a career-high, which she previously set in the second game of the season against Bloomfield on Nov. 10, 2019 when she had 13 points.
Paula Tattari registered a career-high 10 points. Her previous career-high of six points was set last game against Southern New Hampshire on Jan. 14.
Alexa Kellner recorded a career-high five assists against Saint Michael's. Her previous career-high was four against Dec. 14.