Flashes Visit RedHawks in Key MAC East Matchup
1/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Two of the MAC's top three winning percentages will square off Saturday (Jan. 10) when Kent State (11-2) visits Millett Hall to take on Miami (9-5). The Golden Flashes recently had an eight-game winning streak come to a halt and will face one of their tougher tests of conference play for the second time in four days.
• The Golden Flashes have played Miami more than any other program and hold a slim 35-34 all -time series lead over the RedHawks. Miami swept a pair of regular season games from KSU last season on its way to a MAC Tournament title.
• In two games against the RedHawks in 2008, Stephanie Gibson averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
• In a 77-71 setback to Bowling Green Wednesday night Anna Kowalska led the Golden Flashes with 20 points and 15 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. On the other end, the Falcons hit 13 three-pointers, a season-high for a Kent State opponent.
• KSU is 6-0 in true road games this season with a pair of double-digit victories.
• In their last road contest, the Golden Flashes came away with their third overtime win of the season, a 73-69 final at New Orleans (Dec. 28). Jamilah Humes chalked up 16 points, eight rebounds, six steals and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• According to collegerpi.com, the Flashes currently hold an RPI rating of 62.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV, Radio & Live Stats: Saturday's game will be televised on ONN. Radio- WHLO AM-640 (Ty Linder, play-by-play). Online radio simulcast will be available on the Kent State website at www.kentstatesports.com. Live stats will be available on Miami's web site at www.muredhawks.com.
A QUICK LOOK AT MIAMI
The RedHawks returned eight letterwinners and three starters from a team that finished 23-11 and won a MAC Tournament championship last season. After a decisive 83-63 win at Akron Wednesday night, Miami has won seven straight against MAC opponents, dating back to February.
Veteran Head Coach Maria Fantanarosa has has helped Miami finish in the top half of the MAC East standings in six of the previous eight seasons. The RedHawks were picked to finish second in the East in this year's preseason poll.
Two RedHawk freshmen, Maggie Boyer and Erin Wisner were in the starting lineup in the 20-point win over the Zips. Boyer, a 5-11 guard, finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Wisner, a forward, went 4-for-4 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line. They were two of five Miami players in double figures.
Preseason All-MAC selction and senior guard Jenna Schone led the RedHawks with 17 points in their last home game, an 80-55 loss to Kentucky. Miami is 3-2 at Millett Hall this season with its other loss coming in double overtime against Butler (86-81).
Junior guard Courtney Reed is averaging 16.5 points over her last two games. She and Schone rank in the MAC's top five in steals. Schone also ranks in the MAC's top six in scoring (15.1 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg).
Miami ranks among the MAC's top four teams in free throw percentage (.748) and three-point field goal percentage (.355). Senior guard Ashley Hawkins is second in the MAC with a +1.7 assist/turnover ratio.
NUMEROUS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Last Saturday, Asheley Harkins became the eighth different KSU player to score 14 or more points in a game this season. Wednesday against Bowling Green, the Flashes had four players in double figures (Jamilah Humes 13, Anna Kowalska 20, Chenel Harris 14, Jena Stutzman 10) for the sixth time this season. Those same four players hit double digits (Humes 16, Kowalska 15, Harris 14, Stutzman 11) in the Flashes last road game at New Orleans.
Ten Golden Flashes have scored 11 or more points in their careers. Kowalska, Humes, Stutzman and Rachel Bennett have all been among the MAC's top 30 in scoring. Five Flashes hit double figures in wins over Seattle and Youngstown State. Three of the five double-digit scorers in the Seattle win (Gibson, Spears, Shields) differed from the double figure scorers against YSU (Kowalska, Harris, Humes, Stutzman, Bennett).
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Kent State out-rebounded Bowling Green 39-31 Wednesday night, its second best rebounding margin of the season. After winning the battle of the boards just three times in their first nine games, the Golden Flashes have held a rebounding edge in three of their last four games. KSU also held a decisive advantage in offensive rebounds (18-9) against the Falcons.
LAST TIME AGAINST MIAMI
OXFORD, Ohio - Turnovers, fouls and a rebounding shortage in the second half for Kent State all proved to be costly in the Golden Flashes' 76-59 loss to Miami (Feb. 27) at Millett Hall. KSU shot 42 percent from the field, but the RedHawks took 27 more field goal attempts.
Stephanie Gibson led the Flashes with 16 points and seven assists. She helped KSU stay within five points of the RedHawks (57-52) with eight minutes to play, but her jumper with 5:54 remaining was the Flashes' final field goal of the game.
Centers Ellie Shields and Anna Kowalska played a combined 20 minutes in the second half and took just one shot. The Flashes committed 14 turnovers and 12 fouls in the half and were outrebounded 20-14.
The RedHawks shot 50 percent from three-point range for most of the first half, hitting eight of their first 17 attempts from behind the arc. KSU trailed 36-30 at the break and took the lead down to two points (39-37), before Laura Markwood converted a three-point play with 15:49 on the clock. Markwood finished with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while RedHawk center Stephanie Ford added 10 boards. Amanda Jackson sank three of Miami's 11 three-pointers. She finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
With her game-high seven assists, Gibson added four rebounds, two steals and went 8-for-10 from the line in 40 minutes. Chenel Harris finished the night with 14 points and seven rebounds. Shields, who tallied 11 points, went 4-for-5 from the field in the first half, but did not have a field goal attempt in the second.
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