Kent State University
3-2
Stanford
3-2
No. 14 Stanford Uses Big Run to Top Kent State in Play4Kay Showcase Opener
11/24/2017 1:05:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – Kent State's five-point lead quickly disappeared as No. 14 Stanford scored 24 unanswered points during the second quarter of a 79-54 victory for the Cardinal in a Play4Kay Showcase first round game Thursday evening at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The Golden Flashes (3-2) took a 25-20 lead with 6:57 to play in the second period after seniors Naddiyah Cross and Jordan Korinek combined for three-pointers on three consecutive possessions. The 9-0 run was countered by Stanford, which scored 24 straight points over the next 5:41 of game play. The Cardinal scored on their final 11 possessions of the half to head into the locker room leading 48-30.
Kent State closed the third period on a 16-5 run and got within 59-49 with 9:14 remaining in the contest before Stanford pulled away with a 20-3 run of its own.
"I thought we really competed and made Stanford play," said Kent State head coach Todd Starkey. "Anybody who was here and watched the game knows it was closer than a 25-point game. We learned some things about ourselves, and I was happy with our toughness. In spots, we outplayed them, no question about it. But over the course of the game, their size and talent kind of caught up with us."
Senior Jordan Korinek led the Flashes with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Korinek made her first five three-point attempts of the game but shot an uncharacteristic 2-for-5 at the foul line.
"I'm happy with how our team paid attention to the scouting report," Starkey added. "We wanted to look for Jordan [Korinek] to provide a little bit more perimeter scoring. We got her some looks on threes, and she shot the ball well."
Sophomore Ali Poole added 14 points and matched her career-high with six rebounds to lead Kent State. Stanford outrebounded the Flashes, 36-28, and held a 14-10 edge in second-chance points despite Kent State leading 13-10 in offensive rebounds.
Entering the game, the Flashes ranked sixth nationally in free throws made and were averaging 27.0 points in the paint. Stanford's size and athleticism in the frontcourt caused Kent State to often settle for perimeter shots. The Flashes made 11 three-pointers, the first most since making 13 long balls at Bowling Green on Feb. 26, 2011, and scored a season-low 10 points in the paint and shot just 3-for-9 at the charity stripe.
Kent State totaled a season-high 16 assists on just 20 field goals and committed a season-low 12 turnovers in the contest. Cross and junior Alexa Golden had six assists each, which is a new career-high for Golden.
The Flashes move into Friday's consolation bracket contest at 6 p.m. ET. and will play Gonzaga, which fell to Belmont, 71-63.
