Kent State University
3-1
Southeastern Louisiana
0-5
Golden Flashes Pound Paint to Tame Lady Lions, 81-60
11/18/2017 4:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio – Led by a career-high 31 points from senior Jordan Korinek, Kent State dominated play around the basket in an 81-60 wire-to-wire win against Southeastern Louisiana in its second game of the Akron Classic at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Golden Flashes (3-1) scored 69 points in the paint or at the free throw line, while the Lady Lions managed just 21 points in these areas. After Korinek sat almost the entire first quarter in Friday's loss to Florida Gulf Coast, Kent State made sure to get the ball inside to the All-MAC forward early, and she delivered with 10 points in the opening 10 minutes of the contest.
"It's no secret that we're trying to play through Jordan [Korinek]," said Kent State head coach Todd Starkey. "One of the biggest things yesterday was that she got in early foul trouble. Today, we were able to get her the right touches. And when she scores early, it opens everything else up. We did a good job of attacking and getting to the free throw line."
For the fourth time in as many games, Kent State made more free throws than its opponent attempted. The Flashes shot 29-for-35 (.829) at the charity stripe and drew 23 fouls, while SLU was 11-for-14 (.786). Korinek made a career-high 13 free throws on 14 attempts while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds.
Kent State scored a season-best 40 points in the paint, which is 14 more than its next-closest total. The Flashes were able to get good looks from close range throughout the night and shot 23-for-38 (.605) on two-point attempts.
Graduate student McKenna Stephens grabbed 10 rebounds for the second game in a row to lead Kent State to a 46-22 advantage on the glass. Junior Alexa Golden added seven rebounds, including a team-best four on the offensive end. The Flashes had nearly as many offensive rebounds (18) as the Lady Lions had total rebounds and outscored them 21-10 on second-chance points.
Stephens scored the first five points of the contest and back-to-back baskets by Jordan Korinek gave Kent State an 11-3 lead. However, Southeastern Louisiana drained four of its first six three-point attempts to get within 13-12. The Flashes answered with a run over the final 3:14 to lead 22-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The game was still tight with Kent State leading 29-24 midway through the second quarter before the Flashes scored eight straight to go ahead by 13 points, their largest lead of the half. After a Lady Lions three-pointer, senior Naddiyah Cross scored a layup in the closing seconds to lead, 39-27, at halftime.
Kent State scored on six of its first seven possessions to start the third quarter with a 15-2 run. Sophomore Ali Poole scored 10 points in the period and the Flashes took a 65-43 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Eleven players saw the floor in the fourth quarter with seven Flashes contributing to a 13-3 rebounding advantage. Six straight points by Korinek capped an 8-0 run that gave Kent State the largest lead of the game, 73-46. Freshman Kasey Toles made her first collegiate basket and freshman Margaux Eibel saw her first action in the quarter.
Poole joined Korinek in double-figures with 15 points and added a career-high two blocked shots. The Carrollton, Ohio native has scored in double-figures three times this season, matching her total from a season ago. Junior Merissa Barber-Smith, Naddiyah Cross, Alexa Golden and redshirt junior Tyra James added seven points apiece. Golden tied her career-high with four assists, and Cross also had four helpers.
Kent State heads to Las Vegas next for three games in the Play4Kay Showcase at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Flashes open the tournament against No. 14 Stanford on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The rugged eight-team field averaged 25.4 wins and an RPI of 60 during the 2016-17 season.
