Kent State University
Michigan
Upset-Minded Flashes to Battle No. 24/21 Wolverines Sunday on BTN Plus
12/10/2017 9:32:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Kent State plays its third game in six days at No. 24/21 Michigan at 2 p.m. Sunday inside of the Crisler Center. The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus (subscription required).
The Golden Flashes (6-4) visit the site where last season came to an end in a 67-60 loss to the Wolverines in the first round of the WNIT. Michigan went on to win the tournament and has won 13 of its last 15 contests dating back to last season.
After grinding out a come-from-behind overtime victory on the road Tuesday night at Eastern Kentucky, Kent State had one of its worst offensive performances of the season and appeared to be fatigued as the game went on in a 72-60 loss at home to Wright State less than 48 hours later on Thursday. After hitting eight of their first 10 shots in the game, the Flashes went without a field goal over the next 15 possessions, a span of 8:40 on the game clock, and shot just 11-for-42 (.262) the rest of the game.
Senior Jordan Korinek led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds. Junior Alexa Golden shot 3-for-4 from the three-point line and finished with 13 points. Senior Naddiyah Cross registered a season-best eight assists.
Korinek has been very efficient in scoring a team-high 19.8 points per game. She is shooting 53.7 percent from the floor, including 10-for-20 from the three-point line, and 80 percent at the foul line. She ranks 10th nationally in free throws made (56) and 11th in free throw attempts (70). Graduate student McKenna Stephens leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game and adds 10.3 points per game. Cross is averaging a career-best in every major statistical category, including 5.2 assists per game.
Scouting No. 24/21 Michigan
Michigan has won three straight after holding off a late rally to defeat Marquette, 82-76, on Thursday. Both of the Wolverines' losses came against Top 5 opponents, a 75-49 loss at No. 5 Louisville and an 83-63 setback to No. 3 Notre Dame. Michigan has scored more than 80 in each game of its current winning streak and averages 74.1 points per game on the season,
All-America guard Katelynn Flaherty ranks sixth in the nation in scoring at 23.4 points per game and has leads the team with 4.0 assists per game. Flaherty is Michigan's career leading scorer with 2,230 points and needs just 77 points to cracking the top 10 in scoring in Big Ten history. All-Big Ten forward Hallie Thome (17.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has made 65.2 percent of her field goal attempts this season and ranks seventh nationally. Forward Jillian Dunston hauls in 9.7 rebounds per game and has more assists (30) than points (26).
Series History
• Kent State is 0-4 all-time vs. Michigan with each game being played in Ann Arbor.
• The Golden Flashes saw last season come to an end at the hands of the Wolverines in a 67-60 loss at the Crisler Center in the first round of the WNIT.
• This will be the first regular season meeting between the schools since Dec. 30, 1981, which Michigan won, 79-63.
• Kent State is 5-31 all-time vs. schools currently in the Big Ten.
FLASHback to Last Meeting
• Kent State's second-half rally fell short in a 67-60 loss in the first round of the WNIT on March 16, 2017.
• The Golden Flashes shot just 6-for-32 (.188) in the first half and trailed by 21 but fought to get the deficit to just five with two minutes to play.
• Kent State was relentless on the glass and held a 46-34 rebounding advantage.
• The Flashes grabbed 22 of their own missed shots and converted them into 20 second-chance points.
• Merissa Barber-Smith set career-highs (at the time) with 8 points and 13 rebounds (7 offensive) in 19 minutes off the bench.
• Larissa Lurken scored a team-high 19 points on just 4-for-20 shooting and had eight rebounds.
• McKenna Stephens (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Jordan Korinek (10 points, 6 rebounds in just 21 minutes) also made big contributions for the Flashes.
• Katelynn Flaherty scored Michigan's first nine points on 3-for-3 from long range to help the hosts lead 13-4 in the opening minutes.
• Kent State got within 14-11 but the Wolverines answered with a 15-3 run to lead by 15.
• Nicole Munger connected on a jumper with 0:19 in the second period to give Michigan its largest lead of the game, 43-22, at halftime  .
• Kent State started its comeback by winning the third quarter, 21-12 and held Michigan scoreless until the 6:26 mark of the fourth, but managed just four points in that stretch.
• Megan Carter made a layup to get within 61-56 with 2:03 to play, but that is as close as it got.
• Flaherty led Michigan with 22 points and Hallie Thome added 13 points.
TV / Radio
The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus, which requires a subscription to view. Dave Wilson will have the call on 640 WHLO and the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will travel to Robert Morris after eight days off on Tuesday, Dec. 19.Â
