Kent State University
3-14, 0-7MAC
Bowling Green
7-9, 3-4MAC
Three-point shooting leads Falcons past Flashes
1/23/2016 4:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – A big first half from Jordan Korinek was not enough for Kent State as Bowling Green pulled away in the second half of a 71-49 victory on Saturday at the Stroh Center.
"I thought the tempo of the game was the difference, and their three point shooting was prolific," said Head Coach Danielle O'Banion. "The first half was Kent State tempo, and the remainder of the second half they turned us into a half court team."
Jordan Korinek's fine play had Kent State (3-14, 0-7) in the lead for most of the first half. Korinek scored 10 of her 14 points and grabbed four of her five rebounds in the first 20 minutes. The Flashes led 13-11 after one quarter and held a 19-16 lead following a layup by Korinek at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter.
Bowling Green managed to take the lead going into the halftime break by catching fire from beyond the three-point arc. The Falcons hit a string of long-range shots late in the half, including back-to-back threes by Rachel Myers and Miriam Justinger in the final 1:08 to turn a 24-24 tie into a six-point halftime advantage.
Led by Sydney Lambert and Myers, the Falcons shot 15-of-29 from three-point range on its way to improving to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in Mid-American Conference play. Lambert, who scored a game-high 20 points, connected on 6-of-9 from three while Myers (15 points) made 5-of-6.
In the first half, BGSU shot 8-for-17 from three-point range. Early threes by Myers and Lambert to open the second half helped BGSU extend its lead to double digits. The Falcons hit 6-of-9 from the arc in the third quarter while building a 55-35 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Kent State narrowly lost the battle of the boards by a 38-34 margin as Tyra James led the Flashes with eight rebounds. Paige Salisbury contributed five rebounds in 11 solid minutes off of the KSU bench that included 2-of-3 shooting from the field and five points.
McKenna Stephens chipped in with eight points while going 2-of-5 from three-point range.
KSU bettered BGSU in second-chance scoring (13-11) and matched the Falcons in scoring in the paint (12-12).
Up next for the Flashes is a Wednesday meeting with Northern Illinois at the M.A.C. Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
