Kent State University
4-4
Fort Wayne
1-6
Hot Start Hands Flashes 66-55 Victory
11/30/2016 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – A big first quarter led Kent State (4-4) to a 66-55 victory over Fort Wayne (1-6) despite being outscored in the final three quarters.
The Mastodons were able to make the first basket of the game 40 seconds in, but then were held to just four made free throws through the rest of the quarter. The Flashes defense held them to just 1-for-12 shooting while Larissa Lurken scored 16 herself in the opening ten minutes to get out to a 24-6 lead.
Fort Wayne was able to improve to make seven field goals in the second quarter, but Kent State continued its hot shooting, hitting 48.1 percent from the field and 4-of-8 from three point range to lead 40-23 at the half. Nearly half of the Flashes' points came in the paint as they also scored 16 off of ten turnovers.
The third quarter wasn't too impressive for either team, as both made just four of 11 attempts. The Mastodons were able to string together 6-0 and 5-0 runs, but the latter was quieted with a Jordan Korinek layup. After a block from Lurken on the defensive end, Naddiyah Cross drove up the lane for two. Kent State maintained its lead and went ahead 50-37 as the third quarter came to a close.
In the fourth, the Mastodons were able to connect some shots at the free throw line to get the lead to within 11 points with seven minutes left to play. However, the Flashes thwarted a comeback with a 6-0 run thanks to two layups from Alexa Golden and two free throws from Korinek.
In the end, Fort Wayne was held to 36.0 percent shooting while Kent State shot near 50 percent and outrebounded the Mastodons 38-25. Lurken led the team in scoring with 25 points and had four steals and three blocks. Golden collected a career-high 13 points and added in six rebounds.
Kent State returns to action next Wednesday when it travels to Wright State for a 7 p.m. game.
