Late Second Half Run Lifts Women?s Basketball over Ohio, 80-74
2/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Kent State's double-digit total in MAC wins is the 17th during head coach Bob Lindsay's 21-year tenure and first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
Leading Kent State offensively was a pair of 20-point performances by Jamilah Humes (Saginaw, Mich.) and Taisja Jones (Dallas, Texas), marking the third time this season both players eclipsed the 20-point plateau. Humes tallied 23 points while Jones scored 20 points to go with a game-best 10 rebounds.
Yoshica Spears (Nome, Texas) and Lorriane Odhiambo (Nairobi, Kenya) also had double-figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively; Odhiambo's effort was a career-best in scoring.
"I thought we came out a bit flat footed today and didn't play with as much energy as we should," said Lindsay. "That being said, we still found enough in the second half to make the plays we needed to down the stretch."
In a game where neither team had more than an eight-point lead, Kent State's late 10-0 charge was critical. Trailing two, 67-65 with 3:28 to play, Spears made the first of two free throws; but on her miss, she corralled the rebound and called a timeout to keep possession. On the ensuing play, Spears drained a baseline three to give Kent State a lead it would not relinquish.
Spears' solid play didn't end there, as she tapped a ball loose resulting in an Ohio turnover on the next trip down the court. Kent State converted that turnover into a layup by Jones; it was two of KSU's 23 points off Ohio turnovers.
With free throws giving Kent State a 75-67 lead with 43 seconds to play, Ohio tried to battle back with three-pointers and missed opportunities by the Flashes at the free throw line and managed to pull within two, 76-74 with five seconds left. KSU shut the door with 2-for-2 free throw efforts by Rachel Bennett (Marion, Ohio) and Humes in the game clock's final ticks.
The first half was nip and tuck with six ties and four lead changes. Kent State built a 19-12 lead with a three-pointer by Jones with 10:24 to go in the first, but Ohio responded with a 7-2 run to pull within two, 21-19.
A natural three-point play by Humes gave Kent State a 30-23 with 3:32 to go in first, and the lead grew to eight twice in the first half's final two minutes. Ohio then cut the deficit to six on a put-back by Jenny Poff to make it 38-32 Kent State at the break. Jones and Humes led the way in the stanza, posting 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Ohio responded hot out of the gate with a pair of threes by Poff and Jennifer Bushby to knot the game at 38 apiece. It was part of a 12-2 run by Ohio, which also featured a trio of buckets by Thia Gholson. The Bobcats shot 19-of-36 from the field in the second half.
Personal fouls plagued Ohio, as the host Bobcats were whistled for 28 fouls, including 19 in the second half. The result was 37 free throw attempts by Kent State, which the Flashes turned into 24 points. The aggressive Ohio defense also registered 12 blocked shots.
Ohio (6-20, 2-11) was led by a 23-point outing by Bushby, while Ghoulson added 14 points. Carolyn Barnett came off the bench to chip in 12 points.
Kent State returns home for its final regular season home game Wednesday, Feb. 24 against regional foe Akron for a 7 p.m. tip at the M.A.C. Center.
| Kent State/Ohio Box Score |
