Flashes Dominate Zips; Improve to 2-0 in MAC
1/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Akron, Ohio - With five players scoring in double figures, Kent State improved to 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play after a 79-47 road victory over Akron Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) at Rhodes Arena. The opening seven minutes belonged to the Zips' Sarah Tokodi, but the remainder of the game was domintated by the Golden Flashes.
Tokodi, a freshman point guard, scored the first 14 points for the Zips, giving Akron an early 14-10 lead. Head Coach Bob Lindsay countered with a defensive switch, assgining Kerrie James (Mississsauga, Ontario/Power) to put the clamps down on Tokodi.
"Kerrie is our best defender on the perimeter," said Lindsay. "And she did a good job of denying Tokodi the ball."
A free throw from La'kia Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) midway through the half, gave KSU a one point advantage (15-14), in what would turn out to be the only lead change of the game. Minutes later up 21-20, Stewart sparked a 14-0 KSU run by scoring the next six points.
"We starting pushing the ball up the court more at that point," said Linday. "That really put Akron on their heels." Tiffany LaFleur (Scarborogh, Ontario) sank a jumpshot to beat the halftime buzzer, giving the Flashes a 41-24 lead at the break. Stewart and LaFleur each had 11 points at the half.
After some back-and-forth play to start the second half, a three-point play by Stewart extended the Flashes' lead to 20 points (53-33). Freshman guard Jamilah Humes (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) then scored the next nine points for Kent State, giving the Flashes a comfortable 62-34 lead with 10:28 to play.
It took the Zips over 16 minutes to connect on a two-point field goal attempt in the second half.Tokodi finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. In the opening half, it took 11 minutes for another Akron player to score.
Stewart led the Flashes with 16 points, adding eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals. "Kia played with a lot energy today," said Lindsay.
Senior guard Kristin Peoples (Westerville, Ohio/Brookhaven) registered 14 points, while LaFleur tallied 13 and a game-high nine rebounds. Humes and James added 11 and 10 points respectively. Sophomore guard Asheley Harkins (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) dished out a game-high five assists.
"It was the first time in a while we had everybody together," Lindsay added, after having four different players miss games with injuries already this season.
The Zips (7-7, 0-2 MAC) shot just 25.5 percent from the field and were out-muscled underneath as KSU outscored Akron 40-10 in the paint.
"We didn't execute our defensive plan," said Akron coach Jodi Kest. "We need to play for 40 minutes. Not just the opening part of the game"
Kent State extended its winnng streak against Akron to 15 games and leads the all-time series 40-4. Saturday marked the first road win of the year for the Golden Flashes (1-3 on the road) and the third time this season five different Flashes have scored in double figures.
Kent State (6-7, 2-0 MAC) continues its MAC East road swing Wednesday (Jan. 10) at 19th ranked Bowling Green (12-2, 2-0 MAC). Tip-off at Anderson Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
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