Final	1	2	T
Kent State (6-21)	8	32	40
Ohio (14-17)	34	24	58
Convocation Center (Athens, Ohio)

Kent State	Ohio
Pts: HUTCHESON, Jamie - 16	Pts: BENSON, Tenishia - 14
Reb: SCHAEFER, Leslie - 9	Reb: BENSON, Tenishia - 14
Ast: LLOBET, Itziar - 3	Ast: FOWLER, Ashley - 6

Team Statistics	Kent State	Ohio
Field Goal %	29.5% (13-44 )	34.4% (22-64 )
Rebounds	36	38
Assists	6	16
Turnovers	23	10
Pts off Turnovers	5	20
2nd Chance Pts	4	9
Bench Pts	10	31

full stats

Golden Flashes split regular season series with the Bobcats, own a 6-0 mark all-time against Ohio in postseason play.

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The road to a conference championship begins for Kent State women’s basketball Saturday (March 3) in Athens, Ohio, with a 2012 First Energy Mid-American Conference Tournament First Round matchup against East Division foe Ohio. Opening tip for the win-or-go-home battle is set for noon. The Golden Flashes enter the tournament as the conference’s No. 9 seed while the Bobcats are seeded at No. 8.

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

Saturday'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

OHIO BOBCATS (13-17 overall, 6-10 MAC)

All-time series: Kent State leads, 49-21

Kent State Head Coach Bob Lindsay vs. Ohio: 38-10

Current Streak: L1

•Saturday’s MAC Tournament matchup pits the fourth and fifth place teams in the East Division against each other. Kent State split the regular season series with the Bobcats, earning a 68-65 in at the M.A.C. Center on Jan. 7 but dropping a 51-45 decision at the Convocation Center on Feb. 18.

• Just three points seperated the Golden Flashes and Bobcats in the regular season series. Kent State outshot (.422-.366) and outrebounded (81-63) Ohio in two games, but turned the ball over 23 more times (50-27). The season series was one of two different halves for both teams. Ohio outscored Kent State, 63-46, in the opening 20 minutes of play but the Flashes held the upperhand in the final stanza, 67-53.

• Despite sporting a sub-.500 record, the Bobcats earned 11 of their 13 wins at the Convocation Center in 2011-12 -- including the victory over Kent State. On the flip side of that, the Golden Flashes enter Saturday’s game with a 1-12 record away from the friendly confines of the M.A.C. Center in Kent. Kent State’s lone road victory was a 67-61 triumph at Western Michigan on Jan. 25.

• The Golden Flashes have faced the Bobcats six times in tournament history and won all six previous meetings.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

• Kent State sports an all-time MAC Tournament record of 32-21 (.604 winning percentage and is 2-0 in first round games.

• Kent State has posted at least one win against every MAC team except Akron (never faced each other).

• Kent State has appeared in five MAC Tournament title games since 2000 with a pair of victories (2000, ‘02). A MAC Championship this season would secure the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid and mark Kent State’s first since 2002.

• 23rd-year Kent State head coach Bob Lindsay is the all-time leader in MAC Tournament wins (30).

• Kent State and Ohio last squared off in tournament action in 2005, earning a 93-74 win in the quarterfinals at Gund Arena in Cleveland.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SEASON SERIES BETWEEN KENT STATE AND OHIO

KENT STATE 68, OHIO 65 • JAN. 7 • M.A.C. CENTER - KENT, OHIO

Kent State put together a 12-9 run over the final five minutes of play to earn a 68-65 victory over Ohio on Jan. 7 at the M.A.C. Center.

The Golden Flashes snapped an eight-game losing streak and earned their first conference victory of the 2011-12 campaign with the victory over the Bobcats. Kent State outshot Ohio, 46.3%-43.6% -- including a 35%-25% edge from three-point land and outrebounded the Bobcats, 38-27.

A trio of juniors led the way for the Flashes with double-digit scoring efforts. Guard Tamzin Barroilhet (Sainte Maxime, France) led all scorers with a career-high 20 points. Junior forward Diamon Beckford (Upper Darby, Pa.) and junior guard Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio) each achieved double-doubles. Beckford scored a career-high 19 points -- including a game-high four threes -- and chipped in 10 rebounds while Krewson added 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and matched Barroilhet with a game-high three steals.

KENT STATE 51, OHIO 45 • FEB. 18 • CONVOCATION CENTER - ATHENS, OHIO

Kent State lost a MAC East road game at Ohio, 51-45, on Feb. 18 at the Convocation Center.

Kent State rallied from a nine-point half time to deficit to pull to within three points with 5:10 to play but were unable to overcome 32 turnovers.

Junior forward Leslie Schaefer (Verona, Wis.) tallied a then-career-high 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Barroilhet joined her in double figures, adding 12 points. Krewson just missed out on double figures, totaling nine points. Freshman guard Jamie Hutcheson (Ancaster, Ontario) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while freshman guard Itziar Llobet (Sant Cugat de Valles, Spain) dished out a game-high five assists.

FLASH FORWARD

The winner of Saturday’s contest will face the winner of the contest matching up No. 5 Central Michigan and No. 12 Ball State next Wednesday (March 7) at noon at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.