Flashes to Open Husky Classic with Clemson
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Off to its first 3-0 start since 1991, Kent State heads to Seattle for a pair of weekend games at the Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington. The Golden Flashes look to go 4-0 for the first time in school history against Clemson (3-2) on Friday (Nov. 28) and will battle either the host Huskies or Seattle University on Sunday (Nov. 30).
• The Husky Classic will be KSU's only regular season tournament of the year and will mark the Flashes' first meeting with Clemson in program history.
• Anna Kowalska blocked a career-high seven shots and recorded her 10th double-double in just over a year during Kent State's 84-82 win over New Mexico State Sunday at the M.A.C. Center. She led the Flashes with 21 points and 10 rebounds and blocked her seventh shot of the day with just 14 seconds left and her team up by a point.
• Rachel Bennett made three free throws in the final 40 seconds against the Aggies on the way to her first career double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 assists.
• Last season, the Flashes did not earn their third win until Dec. 29.
• Kowalska ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring (19.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg) and ranks first in blocked shots (3.7 bpg).
• In just her second game back after a one-year absence, Jamilah Humes came off the bench to score 19 of her career-high 25 points in the second half at Delaware State on Nov. 19.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio & Live Stats: WHLO AM-640 (Ty Linder, play-by-play). Online radio simulcast available on the Kent State website at www.kentstatesports.com. Live stats will be available on Washington's web site at www.gohuskies.com
HARKINS LEADING THE DEFENSE
Sunday against New Mexico State, Asheley Harkins came off the bench to give the Golden Flashes a defensive boost. The Aggies' Madison Spence scored 30 points, including 19 in the first 17 minutes, but Harkins took on the defensive assignment and changed the flow of the game. Spence went just 1-for-4 from the field when being guarded by Harkins and 7-for-11 against the rest of the Flashes. Harkins also grabbed three steals and took a charge. • Often called upon to guard the opposition's top scorer, Harkins was among the nation's leaders in steals last year. In a 14-game period, Harkins grabbed three or more steals 11 times. In conference games, she averaged 3.38 steals per contest. • In the season opener against Youngstown State, Harkins had a pair of steals in 18 minutes off the bench and YSU players went just 1-for-3 from the field while being guarded by her. MAGIC NUMBERS- 76 & 60 Following an 84-82 win over New Mexico State, the Golden Flashes are 16-0 when scoring 76 or more points in a game since the 2006-07 season. The Flashes have had similar success with the number 60. In their first two victories, the Golden Flashes held both Youngstown State and Delaware State to under 60 points. Since the 2004-05 season, KSU is 38-1 when holding opponents under 60 points. TOURNAMENT PLAY The Golden Flashes have gone just 4-8 in regular season tournaments over the previous two seasons, dropping their opening round game in all six tournaments. KSU finished 2-2 in tournament competition last season with third places at both the Rocky Mountain Invitational hosted by Colorado State and the Highlander Christmas Classic hosted by Radford. KSU last won a regular season tournament championship in 1996 at the Lady Panther Invitational in Pittsburgh. The Flashes knocked off Siena and Coppin State to close out non-conference play on their way to a 20-10 season. A QUICK LOOK AT CLEMSON The Tigers returned eight letterwinners and three starters from a team that finished 12-19 last season and 8-9 in non-conference games. Head Coach Cristy McKinney is in her fourth season at Clemson, but has won 251 games as a head coach. McKinney went 2-1 against the Golden Flashes during her 12 seasons at Rice. Her 216 wins are the most in Owl history. During McKinney's tenure, the Flashes won the only meeting in Kent (2003), while Rice won both meetings in Houston (1993, 2004). Junior forward Lele Hardy leads the Tigers in scoring (17.8), rebounding (7.4), field goal percentage (.508) and steals (22). She is also 8-of-15 on three-point attempts. Hardy put up 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting in a loss to Georgia State last week. She ranked 41st in the nation last season in steals per game (2.7 spg) and had a 1.09 assist/turnover ratio. • Hardy and junior center April Parker are the only two Tigers to have started in all five games. Clemson has already used nine different players in its starting lineup. • The Tigers are 1-1 on the road this season defeating South Carolina 52-45 and falling to Furman 82-68. • In a 76-68 win over Winthrop Tuesday night (Nov. 25), six Clemson players scored eight or more points, while 10 Tigers played 12 or more minutes. SHARP FREE THROW SHOOTING The Golden Flashes have shot over 75 percent from the charity stripe in all three of their games, earning their fair share of trips to the line in each contest. KSU hit 16-of-21 free throws against Youngstown State, 18-of-22 at Delaware State and 25-of-32 against New Mexico State. • Last year KSU only shot above 75 percent from the line four times and had 12 different games with less than 20 free throw attempts. CRUNCH TIME Each of Kent State's last two games have been a battle to the end. The Golden Flashes trailed New Mexico State by a point (82-81) with under a minute to play and were tied with Delaware State (43-43) with just over five minutes remaining. KSU has come out on top in each of its last three "down to the wire" games including a 2008 MAC Tournament victory over Northern Illinois that was tied (60-60) with under five minutes to play. UP NEXT Following Sunday's championship and consolation games, the Golden Flashes will fly home Monday morning and return to the airport on Wednesday as they head to Wilmington, N.C. for a battle with UNC-Wilmington on Thursday, Dec. 4. The Seahawks defeated the Flashes last season 63-48 in the opening round of the Radford Christmas Classic. HORNET SWATTING Last week's 66-56 victory at Delaware State was the Flashes' first true road win against a non-conference opponent since 2005, snapping an 11-game skid in that category. • The KSU defense held the Hornets to 7-of-31 shooting in the first half, including 1-of-13 from three-point range. • A three-pointer by freshman guard Jena Stutzman gave the Flashes a 10-8 lead six minutes into the game and KSU never trailed again. • Anna Kowalska blocked three shots in the first half. • The Flashes trip to Dover was the first of eight non-conference road games to be played during a 40-day span in seven states (Del., Wash., N.C., Ohio, Vt., Kan. La.). It was also the program's first trip to the state of Delaware. BENNETT'S LONG-RANGE ACCURACY
Rachel Bennett appears to have picked up where she left off last season from behind the arc, hitting 8-of-13 three-pointers in her first three games. Bennett has scored 18 points in both of Kent State's home wins, going 4-of-4 from three-point range against New Mexico State and 3-for-7 against Youngstown State. In an eleven-game span toward the end of last season, Bennett connected on 20-of-40 three-point field goal attempts. She sat out the entire 2006-07 season with an injury and improved as the 2007-08 season progressed. She hit double figures in scoring in five straight games during the month on February, including 21 points against MAC West champion Ball State.
A NEW 3-POINT THREAT
Freshman guard Jena Stutzman has also been accurate from behind the arc, going 8-for-17. In her first game at Kent State, Stutzman started at guard and finished with 13 points and a game-high five steals. She hit 56-of-151 shots from behind the arc as a senior at Hiland High School and became the school's career leader in three-pointers made. Stutzman won three state titles at Hiland, becoming the school's all-time scoring leader with 1,643 points.
• Stutzman, Bennett and Stephanie Gibson are a combined 20-of-38 (.526) from three-point range this season.
• Stutzman is the first player to wear #24 since Lindsay Shearer, an All-American and 2006 MAC Player of the Year.
KOWALSKA: PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior center Anna Kowalska was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week for the third time in her career on Nov. 17. Despite being double and triple teamed against Youngstown State, Kowalska went 7-of-9 from the field and led both sides with 19 points. She added four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot in just 19 minutes on the floor.
• In Kowalska's second week of action, she averaged 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game
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