Kent State University
3-9, 0-1
Eastern Michigan University
11-1, 1-0
Eastern hands Flashes 88-70 loss in MAC opener
1/4/2014 4:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State suffered an 88-70 loss to Eastern Michigan in its Mid-American Conference opener despite a career-high 17 points from freshman Krista White and double-double performances by CiCi Shannon and Montia Johnson on Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes trailed by as may as 22 points in the first half before going into the halftime locker room trailing the Eagles 46-30. Kent State pulled as close as 11 during a spirited second half that saw Eastern outscore Kent State by a slim 42-40 margin.
"I feel positive about our second-half performance," said Kent State head coach Danielle O'Banion. "I thought there were some good things we could take away from that second half … It could have been a very competitive game if we would have avoided turning the ball over 13 times in the first half."
The Flashes turned the ball over 27 times overall against Eastern Michigan's full-court pressure, but those miscues led to the Eagles owning a slim 26-20 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Kent State won the battle of the boards 40-33. Johnson pulled down 12 rebounds to go with her 11 points while Shannon added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
White's 17 points came on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Fellow freshman Larissa Lurken chipped in 15 points while going 3-for-6 from three-point range.
"Earlier this week I was talking about how Krista and Larissa have really found their voices," said O'Banion. "So it's not surprising to see Krista have a game like she had. At the same time, she can't have five turnovers if she is going to play 31 minutes like this. But that's one of the many great game-teaching points we can take from this one."
Like Kent State, Eastern Michigan finished with four double-digit scorers. Janay Morton led the way with 21 points followed by 19 points from Cha Sweeney, 15 from Desyree Thomas and 10 from Natachia Watkins.
The Eagles improved to 11-1 overall while the Golden Flashes fell to 3-9 on the season.
Kent State continues its MAC season on Thursday night when Bowling Green visits the M.A.C. Center for a 7 p.m. tip.
