Kent State Knocks Off Northern Illinois, 75-67, In MAC Opening Round
3/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND - After watching a 21-point lead disappear, Kent State persevered in a 75-67 Mid-American Conference Tournament victory over Northern Illinois Monday (March 10) at Quicken Loans Arena. Providing 15 points and 10 rebounds, freshman forward Chenel Harris led the Golden Flashes with her sixth double-double in nine games, doing most of her damage in the second half.
With the victory, KSU (9-20) advanced to Tuesday's quarterfinal and will take on MAC regular season champion Bowling Green. Harris tallied 11 points and six boards in the second half and was one of four Flashes to finish with 12 or more points.
"We played with a lot of energy in the first half and had a great half," Head Coach Bob Lindsay said. "Northern Illinois made a great comeback. We didn't have that energy to start the second half, but with a young team we never folded. We made plays to stay in it throughout and I'm proud of the way they performed. They didn't quit."
A jumper by Anna Kowalska with just under four minutes left in the half gave Kent State its largest lead of the game (37-16). It gave Kowalska nine points in the half, but with Harris and Rachel Bennett on the bench with foul trouble, the Huskies trimmed the lead down to 16 by the break.
Northern Illinois quickly shifted the game's momentum starting the second half on a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Kyle York with 18:23 on the clock. Soon after, the Huskies went on a 16-7 run and cut the lead to one point (50-49) with 11:18 to play. A layup from Bennett temporarily stopped the bleedding, but York nailed another three to knot it up at 52.
Harris responded with a jumper, but Shari Welton's triple on the next possession gave NIU its first and only lead of the game. Harris came right back with another jumper and the seesaw battle continued. Junior guard Asheley Harkins broke a 60-60 tie with her third three-pointer of the game and the Flashes never let go of the lead from that point forward.
Freshman point guard Stephanie Gibson had a pair of 2-for-2 trips at the line in the final three minutes and a three-pointer from Bennett with 41 ticks left proved to be the dagger in the Huskies' hearts, giving KSU a 72-64 advantage.
"At the very least we were going to put ourselves in a situation where we played hard," Lindsay said. "I reminded this team about the tradition of this program. We've come up here over the years to win championships. Most of these players never got to see those teams play, but they understand the tradition."
All eight KSU players in uniform made their way into the scoring category by halftime. Harkins finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Gibson turned in 12 points and six assists. Freshman post Ellie Shields also came off the bench to score 12 points. The Flashes shot a scorching 53.3 percent from the field in the first half.
York led the Huskies with 17 points. NIU's top scorer, Whitney Lowe was held to just two points in the first half and contributed to the Huskies shooting just 32 percent in the opening stanza.
The Golden Flashes and the three-time defending tournament champion Falcons are slated to tip off at 8 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.
