KENNESAW - Injuries can be stressful. Key players sitting out with injuries were something the Kennesaw State women's basketball team had to cope with all last season.

Junior guard Nikki Gurley (5-foot-6) missed all of last season to a knee injury. Junior forward Ngoneh Gaye (6-0) was done after nine games when she suffered a season-ending knee injury. Sophomore guard JoeDonna Molden (5-9) lasted just one game last year before taking a medical redshirt with an injured shoulder.

"We were down to eight players in one game and some players had to play out of position," said senior guard Jade Robinson, who was second on the team with 78 assists and 43 steals. "We just had to weather the storm. Nobody complained. Everyone knew their role and adapted day-to-day."

The Owls finished last season with a 13-16 overall record and was 8-10 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, good enough for fifth. Many might have wondered what could have been if the Owls were healthier.

This season might provide the answer, now that last year's injured trio is healthy. KSU is picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Sun with four starters and nine players returning. The Owls host Oglethorpe tonight in their final exhibition game before opening their 2007-2008 season Friday against Jacksonville State at the KSU Convocation Center.

"I'm excited about the players we have and the players coming in," said KSU coach Colby Tilley, who is in his 13th year at the helm. "If all the pieces of the puzzle come together, we should be a decent ball club."

Tiller said the Owls have more speed this season to make up for their lack of height. Only three players on the roster are above the 6-foot range.

"It helps that we're quicker. It enhances our press," Tiller said. "I'm a slow learner, but you got to have quickness in the Atlantic Sun if you are to win. Experience, quickness and depth, I feel, will make a great difference."

Robinson (5-8), a returning starter, will shift to the perimeter after playing inside the paint last season. Junior guard Jennifer Baker (5-9), sophomore guard Gia Lockett (5-8) and junior center Stephanie Scearce (6-1) also started last year.

Baker is arguably the most experienced player coming back. She became the second player from KSU to be selected on the Atlantic Sun second team last year. She led the Owls with 46 assists and averaged 11.5 points a game. Tiller said she has the ability to shoot beyond the arc and attack inside the paint.

Lockett started 14 games last season as a freshman, averaging 6.9 points and three rebounds and posted 40 assists. Searce started 24 contests, leading the team with a .764 free throw percentage and with 192 rebounds.

Junior guard Lennisha Johnson (5-5) and sophomore guard Greteya Kelley (5-8) are newcomers and both are likely to get a bunch of starts on the perimeter this season.

Johnson will battle junior veteran guard Ashley Johnson (5-6) for the starting role at the point after shooting .487 and dishing out 85 assists for Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kan. Kelly averaged close to 10 points a game two years ago for Appalachian State before redshirting last season.

Sophomore forward DeAndrea Bullock (5-10) and sophomore center Montinique Nixon (6-2) are projected starters inside the paint. Both played every game last season with Nixon being the team leader in blocks with 29.

Junior forward Britteny Henderson (5-11) adds depth after playing at Georgia Perimeter College last season, and senior guard Katie Martin (5-6), a Lassiter alumna, adds experience.

acarrington@mdjonline.com

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