Kent State Women's Basketball Concludes Non-Conference Action With Contest At Bethune-Cookman

The Golden Flashes meet the Lady Wildcats for the first time ever Friday (Dec. 30) in Daytona Beach, Fla.



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The Kent State women’s basketball team wraps up its 2011-12 non-conference slate of games Friday (Dec. 30) with a trip south to Daytona Beach, Fla., to square off with Bethune Cookman. Opening tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The Golden Flashes (1-8) are looking to put an end to a six-game losing streak and seek their second victory of the 2011-12 campaign. Kent State downed Morehead State, 65-64 on Nov. 18 courtesy of a three pointer with five seconds left by junior forward Diamon Beckford (Upper Darby, Pa.).

Friday's game against the Lady Wildcats will feature live stats and free live web video. The provided links will activate at the start of Friday's game.

Friday's contest will be aired live on both ESPN Radio 990 AM and KentStateSports.com, with Dave Wilson providing play-by-play commentary for a second straight season. Click the link above to listen live on your computer.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

BETHUNE-COOKMAN LADY WILDCATS (2-9 overall, 0-1 MEAC)

First Meeting

• The Golden Flashes and Lady Wildcats are squaring off for the first time ever.

• If recent history for Bethune-Cookman is any indication, expect extra basketball to be played. Two of the Lady Wildcats’ last three games have required multiple overtimes to decide a winner -- including a 66-63 double-overtime victory Wednesday (Dec. 28) for Bethune-Cookman over North Florida. Eight days earlier, the Lady Wildcats dropped a tough 71-70 decision to Florida Atlantic in their opening game of the Stetson Hatter Classic.

• Junior guard Jasmine Elum netted a game-high 22 points -- including the winning jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining -- to help lift Bethune-Cookman to its second victory of the season and first since a season-opening 74-52 win over Ave Maria on Nov. 12.

• Elum is Bethune-Cookman’s top scoring threat with 14.6 points per contest and is converting at a .382 clip.

• Head coach Vanessa Blair is in her fourth season directing the Lady Wildcats. She was named the 2009-10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading B-CU to a 15-14 mark that represented both the Lady Wildcats’ first winning campaign in eight seasons and highest win total since 1998.

IN THE AIR TONIGHT

A Kent State victory Friday over Bethune-Cookman would:

• Improve Kent State to 8-1 all-time against programs out of the MEAC. The Golden Flashes are a perfect 2-0 against both Delaware State and Howard and posted wins in their lone meetings against Coppin State and Florida A&M. Kent State’s only loss to a MEAC program came on Jan. 4, 2008, in a 76-71 overtime setback at Maryland Eastern Shore. The Flashes aveneged the loss almost a year to the day later, rolling to a 77-47 triumph over the Lady Hawks on Jan. 3, 2009, at the M.A.C. Center. A 57-48 win over Delaware State on Jan. 3, 2010, at the M.A.C. Center ran Kent State’s current winning streak to two over MEAC teams.

• Improve Kent State’s all-time record in the month of December to 116-106. Kent State went 4-2 in the final month of the calendar year in 2010-11.

• Improve Kent State’s all-time record in games played on Dec. 30 to 6-4. After falling at Michigan, 79-63, in 1981 and at Youngstown State, 81-69, in 1987, the Golden Flashes reeled off five straight victories on the penultimate day of the calendar year -- including a 77-59 win at MEAC member Florida A&M in 2000 in Tallahassee, Fla. Dec. 30 has not been kind to the Flashes recently, though; Kent State fell to Texas-San Antonio at the Wells Fargo New Year’s Classic in 2006 and dropped its second contest at Hawaii in as many days in 2009, losing by a count of 63-60.

FLORIDAYS

Kent State owns a 5-3 mark against schools from the Sunshine State and is 7-5 in games played in Florida, downing Florida Atlantic, 84-66, on Nov. 24, 2009, in Boca Raton in its most recent trip.

FLASH BACK: DEC. 21 VS. NORTHEASTERN

Kent State stayed step-for-step with Northeastern for over 30 minutes but couldn't overcome the visitors in the end, falling 73-65 in the final game of a two-game holiday homestand Wednesday (Dec. 21) at the M.A.C. Center.

Three Kent State players reached double figures in scoring in the loss, led by a career-high 20 points from junior guard Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio) to pace all scorers. Krewson reached double figures for the second straight game and sixth time this season and led the Golden Flashes in scoring for the fourth time this season. She was joined in double digits by freshman guards Jamie Hutcheson (Ancaster, Ontario) and Itziar Llobet (Sant Cugat de Valles, Spain), who totaled 12 points apiece. Llobet has reached double digits in scoring in six of the last seven games while Hutcheson has achieved the feat in four of the last five. Llobet also hauled in a game-high seven rebounds (three offensive, four defensive). Junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet (Sainte Maxime, France) dished out a game-high seven assists to match her career best while chipping in eight points and six boards (two offensive, four defensive). Freshman guard Josie Hull (London, Ohio) provided a defensive spark off the bench, leading the team with three steals.

The Huskies jumped out to a 10-3 lead to open the contest but a 9-2 run by Hutcheson that included two treys knotted the score at 12-all. Northeastern’s lead swelled back up to 11 with just over seven minutes to play in the opening stanza, but Kent State clawed back. A layup by junior center Leslie Schaefer, a three and a layup by Krewson, two successful trips to the free throw line by junior forward Diamon Beckford and a three and a layup by Llobet sent Kent State on a 16-2 run over the next six minutes to give the Flashes a 31-28 advantage with 1:35 to play in half. The Huskies countered with a 7-2 run to close the first 20 minutes of play and took a 35-33 edge into the break.

Northeastern’s hot finish to the first half carried over into the begging of the second, as Huskies began the final 20 minutes of action on an 11-2 run. A conventional three-point play and a layup by Barroilhet and a three by Krewson pulled Kent State to within one at 49-48 with 9:29 to play, but Northeastern answered right back again, this time with a 9-2 run. A jumper by Schaefer and another trey by Krewson cut Kent State’s deficit to five at 58-53 with just over five minutes remaining, but that’s as close as the Flashes got. Northeastern ended the game with a 15-10 scoring edge and never let Kent State get closer than eight points over the final minutes.

TRISHA THE TERRIFIC

Krewson has emerged as Kent State’s top offensive threat so far in 2011-12. The Sandusky, Ohio, native is averaging a team-best 12.1 points per game and is shooting at a .370 clip -- including .350 from behind the arc. She also leads the squad in rebounding, hauling in 6.4 boards per game.

Krewson has reached double figures six times and led the Flashes in scoring in four games this season, totaling 18 points at both Marshall (Nov. 11) and Robert Morris (Nov. 15) before adding 17 in Kent State’s 65-64 2011-12 home-opening victory over Morehead State (Nov. 18). During a nearly 11-minute stretch in the second half of Kent State’s loss to Robert Morris, Krewson accounted for 16 straight Kent State points. She reached double figures for the fourth time this season last against St. Bonaventure (Nov. 30), tallying a game-high 14 points in addition to hauling in a game-high eight rebounds (one offensive, seven defensive). Krewson totaled 14 points against Canisius (Dec. 18) to hit double digits for the fifth time. She followed that performance up by tallying a career-high 20 points last Wednesday (Dec. 21) against Northeastern to lead all scorers.

THE LOWDOWN ON LLOBET

Llobet leads the Flashes with 2.0 steals per game and ranks second on the squad with 10.9 points per game and third with 2.2 assists per game. She has reached double digits in scoring in six of the last seven games -- including three straight.

Llobet got her collegiate career started by tallying in four steals at Marshall (Nov. 11). She scored 13 points in Kent State’s win over Morehead State (Nov. 18), then followed that performance up by earning a place on the All-Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic Team, leading the Golden Flashes with 12.5 points per contest. Llobet scored a career-high 14 points in Kent State’s loss to Utah Valley State (Nov. 25). She just missed out on reaching double figures against St. Bonaventure (Nov. 30), scoring nine points in addition to posting six boards (two offensive, four defensive) and a game-high three steals. Llobet reached double figures for the fourth time in the last five games with a team-high 13 points at Temple (Dec. 6). She also added a team-high three steals and a block on the defensive end. Llobet reached double figures for the fifth time in the last six games by tallying a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers while adding a game-high three steals on the defensive end against Canisius (Dec. 18). She totaled 12 points and hauled in a game-high seven rebounds (three offensive, four defensive) last Wednesday (Dec. 21) against Northeastern.

HUTCH IS CLUTCH

Hutcheson has been heating up, reaching double digits in scoring in four of the last five games. The Ancaster, Ontario, native scored a team-high 12 points at Northern Arizona (Nov. 26) in the final game of the Hilton Garden Inn Thanksgiving Classic. She followed that performance up by scoring a career-high 13 points against St. Bonaventure (Nov. 30). Hutcheson matched her career best by chipping in 13 points to go along with a team-high seven assists Sunday (Dec. 18) against Canisius. She totaled 12 points last Wednesday (Dec. 21) against Northeastern. She currently leads the team with 2.7 assists per game and ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game.

SPARKLING DIAMON

Beckford made quite the debut in front of Kent State’s fans on Nov. 18 at the M.A.C. Center, knocking down the game-winning three pointer with five seconds left to push the Golden Flashes past Morehead State, 65-64, and achieving career highs with 11 points and eight rebounds (two offensive, six defensive). She hit double figures for the second time this season with 11 points against St. Bonaventure (Nov. 30). Beckford just missed out on reaching double digits in each of the last two games. Playing in front of her hometown crowd and a large group of family and friends, she scored nine points and added a team-high five rebounds (two offensive, three defensive) and three assists at Temple (Dec. 6). Beckford added eight points Sunday (Dec. 18) against Canisius and led the Golden Flashes with six rebounds (three offensive, three defensive). She ranks second on the team with 4.6 rebounds per game and is shooting at a team-best .440 clip. Beckford has also been the squad’s most proficient shooter from the free throw, converting 15 of her 16 freebies (.938). She connected on all six of her attempts from the charity stripe last Wednesday (Dec. 21) against Northeastern.

FLASH FORWARD

Kent State kicks off the new calendar year by beginning Mid-American Conference play next Wednesday (Jan. 4) at East Division nemesis Bowling Green.