Fans can cheer on the Golden Flashes, get pictures taken with Santa Claus.

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The Kent State women’s basketball team concludes its two-game holiday homestand Wednesday (Dec. 21) by welcoming Northeastern to the M.A.C. Center. Tip time is slated for noon.

Santa Claus will be making his annual trip around the world this weekend, but first, he'll be dropping by Kent to cheer on his favorite women's hoops team. The Golden Flashes want to get everyone in on the spirit of the season by giving away candy canes and giving fans the chance to have their pictures taken with Jolly Old Saint Nick himself. Tickets start at just $5. For more information contact the Kent State Athletics Ticket Office at (330) 672-2244.

The Golden Flashes (1-7) are looking to put an end to a five-game losing streak and seek their second victory of the 2011-12 campaign. Kent State downed Morehead State, 65-64 on Nov. 18 courtesy of a three pointer with five seconds left by junior forward Diamon Beckford (Upper Darby, Pa.).

Wednesday's game against the Huskies will feature live stats and free live web video. The provided links will activate at the start of Wednesday's game.

Wednesday's contest will be aired live on both ESPN Radio 990 AM and KentStateSports.com, with Dave Wilson providing play-by-play commentary for a second straight season. Click the link above to listen live on your computer.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES (1-9 overall, 0-1 CAA)

All-time series: Kent State leads, 1-0

Kent State Head Coach Bob Lindsay vs. Northeastern: 1-0

Current Streak: W1

• Kent State and Northeastern lock horns for a second straight season, with the lone meeting between the two programs coming on Nov. 16, 2010, in Boston -- a 71-53 triumph for the Golden Flashes. Four players scored in double figures for Kent State, paced by Taisja Jones. Jones had a team-best 16 points, while Jamilah Humes added 14 points. Chenel Harris registered 13 points, while Tayler Stanton came off the bench for 11 points. Jones also snapped up a career-best six steals in leading Kent State’s defensive effort, as the Golden Flashes forced 22 turnovers on 12 steals.

• Northeastern will be taking on its second opponent out of the Mid-American Conference in three days and third on the season. The Huskies fell at Miami, 75-55, Monday (Dec. 19) in Oxford, Ohio. Senior guard Dani Iervolino played all 40 minutes in Monday night’s outing and led Northeastern with 12 points, all by way of the 3-pointer, converting 4-of-10 from downtown. The fourth-year guard also matched a career-best with four 3-pointers made.

• Sophomore center/forward Jewel Tunstull leads the Huskies with 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season and is shooting at an impressive .612 clip. Junior guard Deanna Kerkhof is also averaging double figures in scoring with 11.8 points per game.

IN THE AIR TONIGHT

A Kent State victory Wednesday over Northeastern would:

• Improve Kent State to 4-6 all-time against programs out of the Colonial Athletic Association.

• Improve Kent State’s all-time record in the month of December to 116-105. Kent State went 4-2 in the final month of the calendar year in 2010-11 and has won three of its last four December games.

• Improve Kent State’s all-time record in games played on Dec. 21 to 9-3. The Golden Flashes have been red hot as of late in games played on the 11th-to-last day of the calendar year, winning their last seven games played on the 21st. Kent State downed Florida Atlantic, 82-53 last year at the M.A.C. Center. The win was the 400th career victory for head coach Bob Lindsay. Five players scored in double figures for the Flashes, led by Jones and her 20 points. Humes added 13 points and Stephanie Gibson chipped in 11 points.

BOUND TO BEANTOWN

23rd-year Kent State head coach Bob Lindsay has plenty of ties to Boston and the state of Massachusetts. A native of Worcester, Mass., Lindsay graduated from UMass with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and was a starting defenseman in lacrosse for the Minutemen. Prior to his arrival at Kent State in 1989, Lindsay served as an assistant coach at the College of Holy Cross in his hometown of Worcester, tutoring the Lady Crusaders to NCAA Tournament berths in 1985 and ‘89 in addition to serving as the head coach for men’s lacrosse for eight seasons and capturing three conference titles. Lindsay remains an avid Boston sports fan, rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins.

WE LOVE FREE STUFF

The Golden Flashes are currently tied for 32nd in the country in free-throw percentage, converting at an 75.0% rate from the charity stripe to rank second in the Mid-American Conference.

FLASH BACK: DEC. 18 VS. CANISIUS

Kent State could not overcome solid shooting and rebounding efforts by Canisius, losing an 81-64 decision Sunday (Nov. 18) in a non-conference game at the M.A.C. Center.

Kent State was led by freshman guard Itziar Llobet (Sant Cugat de Valles, Spain), who reached double figures for the fifth time in the last six games by tallying a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers while adding a game-high three steals on the defensive end. She was joined in double digits by junior guard Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio) and freshman guard Jamie Hutcheson (Ancaster, Ontario). Krewson added 14 points to hit double figures for the fifth time this season while Hutcheson matched her career best by chipping in 13 points to go along with a team-high seven assists. Junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet (Sainte Maxime, France) and Beckford each added eight points apiece. Beckford led the Golden Flashes with six rebounds (three offensive, three defensive).

Two threes by Llobet and layups by Beckford, Hutcheson and Krewson helped Kent State open the contest with a 12-7 lead going into the first media timeout. A 9-2 run by the Golden Griffins gave Canisius a 15-14 lead with 11:49 to play in the first half. Kent State stayed step-for-step with the opposition, though, using threes by Krewson and Hutcheson and jumpers by Barroilhet and Schaefer to knot the contest at 26-all with 4:11 remaining in the opening stanza. Unfortunately for the Flashes, Canisius ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break.

 
Kent State came out firing in the second half, going on a 9-2 run to begin the final 20 minutes of play. Hutcheson knocked down a jumper, Barroilhet followed with a layup and Beckford got in on the act by sinking a three and hitting a jump shot on back-to-back possessions to cut the Canisius edge to 38-35 with 16:44 to play. The Golden Flashes shrunk their deficit to one point thanks to a layup by Barroilhet and a successful conventional three-point play by Llobet to make it a 41-40 contest with 14:55 left.

 
That’s as close as Kent State got to taking back to the lead, though, as the Golden Griffins went on a 20-4 run over the next six minutes to take a 61-44 lead and turn the tide of the game.

FLASH FORWARD

Kent State wraps up its 2011-12 non-conference slate of games next Friday (Dec. 30) with a trip south to Daytona Beach, Fla., to square off with Bethune Cookman.