Flashes Make Loud Opening Game Statement
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio - Kent State wasted no time showing its potential with a 95-58 opening game win over area rival Youngstown State Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) at the M.A.C. Center. The Flashes never trailed on Saturday and recorded their highest point total since Feb. 14, 2004.
The Flashes were led by senior center Anna Kowalska who scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and pulled in four rebounds. Junior guard Rachel Bennett added 18 points and sophomore guard Stephanie Gibson dished out a game-best 10 assists. For the first time in two seasons, five Flashes ended the game in double figures.
Kent State shot 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the floor, with nine three-pointers finding their way through the basket. Forty-four of KSU's 95 points came in the paint. On defense Kent State forced 29 turnovers, which led to 38 points off turnovers.
KSU constantly pushed the ball up the floor and used two 11-3 runs to open up a 44-29 halftime lead over the Penguins. The inside-outside duo of Kowalska and Bennett paced KSU in the first half with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Sophomore forward Chenel Harris pulled in a team-high four first-half rebounds while Gibson connected on both of her three-point attempts to come away with six points and two assists. Nine Flashes found their way into the scoring column in the first half.
As a team, Kent State was 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) from the floor in the first half. The Flashes also connected on five of their 12 three-point shots while forcing 13 YSU turnovers and holding YSU to just 30.8 percent shooting on the defensive end of the floor.
Kent State picked up right where it left off to start the second half as Kowalska (5 points) and Harris (4 points) led the Flashes on an 11-5 run to begin the half and push the lead to 21 points (55-34).
The Flashes overcame a tough YSU press to extend its lead to 35 points (80-45) with 5:18 remaining in the game thanks to an 18-1 run that included pinpoint shooting from freshman guard Jena Stutzman and Bennett. Stutzman hit two shots from distance and Bennett also added her third three-ball of the game.
The offensive onslaught continued as the Flashes shot their way to a 95-58 victory. Saturday's game was the first time Kent State scored 90 points since 2005 against Ohio.
Harris, Stutzman and sophomore forward Jamilah Humes all scored 13 points with Harris also grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. In contrast from last year, 10 Kent State players played at least 10 minutes. Humes went 6-for-7 from the field in her first game back since the 2006-07 season.
Kent State has won the last three contests against Youngstown State and holds a 25-12 lead in the series all-time. Stutzman finished with five of the team's 14 steals.
Macey Nortey and Kaitlyn March both scored 13 points to lead Youngstown State in its first game under new head coach Cindy Martin.
The Flashes will look to improve to 2-0 Wednesday (Nov. 19) when they go on the road for the first time to take on Delaware State at 7:00 p.m.
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