Kent State University
7-9, 1-3
Northern Illinois University
11-4, 4-0
98-97 Shootout Gets Away From Flashes
1/11/2017 10:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State (7-9, 1-3) scored its most points in a game since February 14, 2004 but could not overcome Northern Illinois (11-4, 4-0) in a 98-97 shootout in the M.A.C. Center Wednesday night.
Naddiyah Cross was hitting the mark early, as she had two open looks and drained both shots, one from outside the arc and one from just inside. The teams traded three point shots but the Golden Flashes maintained slight leads on the onset, with help of three early steals.
A Larissa Lurken three put Kent State up by four with one possession left on the clock. Northern Illinois snuck in a jumper before the buzzer to make it a two-point game, 29-27, with the Flashes ahead at the end of the first quarter.
The Huskies converted on a layup and foul to start the second and took their first lead of the night. Jordan Korinek then did the same after some good work in the post on the other end to put the Flashes back in front by two.
With the game tied at 34, Northern Illinois turned the ball over on a travel that allowed Lurken to take back the lead. A steal on the next Huskies possession by Lurken then led to a McKenna Stephens' basket to put Kent State back up by four.
A few empty possessions by the Flashes allowed the Huskies to take a lead. Up by three, they made two free throws to lead by five with more than three minutes to play until halftime.
Lurken hit another three to give her 17 points on the night and brought the lead to within one. After NIU scored, Lurken was fouled going up in the paint and was good on her two chances at the line. That made it a one point game with two minutes to play in the second.
Korinek came up big then, with a steal and bucket on the other end. As if that wasn't enough, she took a charge to all-in-all get the lead and get the ball in her team's hands. Back-to-back travels by NIU allowed Stephens to grab an offensive rebound and throw it back up and in – but the officials called it off after review of the clock. The Flashes still led 54-53 at halftime.
A nice stretch to start the third quarter gave Kent State a six-point lead. That became a 69-61 lead, the biggest for either team on the night, right after the media break of the third quarter. Cross threw one into Korinek to make the lead nine. Lurken followed that by taking an offensive foul on some high-pressure defense as Kent State continued to play well on both ends on the floor in the third.
A foul right at the end of the quarter turned into two more points for the Huskies as they found themselves down 78-68 with ten minutes left to play.
Northern Illinois started the fourth strong and hit a three to take an 83-82 lead. However, that lead was short-lived as Korinek connected on two free throws. Shots at the line made the game go back-and-forth until it was tied 87-87 with 3:27 to play.
At that point, the Huskies hit a three and forced a offensive foul to lead by three. After the visitors missed a shot, Korinek got a chance at the line where she made both her free throws to put it back to a one-point game. Stephens made a bucket and Kent State called a timeout as the Flashes trailed 94-93 with exactly one minute remaining on the clock.
In a frantic final minute, Cross drove in and kept the game within one point. Both teams called a timeout as NIU would have the ball with the lead and 4.8 left in the game. After a Huskies turnover, a last-chance play by the Flashes was broken up as the game ended without a final shot.
Kent State edged Northern Illinois in rebounding 35-34 while also putting together strong defensive stats. The team forced 21 turnovers and had 26 points from those mistakes. The Flashes also had nine steals and three blocks in the game.
Lurken led in scoring once again with 31 points while also adding in a team-high six assists. Korinek had another strong game with 26 points. Stephens led in rebounding with seven while scoring 16. Cross finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals.
The Golden Flashes will play their first MAC East opponent this weekend when they head to Ohio for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.
