Kent State University
Bowling Green
Women’s Basketball Back in Action Wednesday at Bowling Green
1/17/2018 4:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes   Video    Audio    Live Stats
State continues a stretch with four of five games at Bowling Green on Wednesday. The Golden Flashes have dropped two straight on the road after a 5-1 road record to start the season.
Kent State (9-8, 2-3 MAC) fought to the final buzzer in an 88-84 setback on the road to first-place Central Michigan, which is the lone undefeated team in Mid-American Conference play.
The Flashes put together their best offensive performance of the season in a narrow four-point loss at first-place Central Michigan on Saturday. The Flashes trailed by 17 with 6:23 remaining but closed the game with a 23-10 run that was capped by a Megan Carter three-pointer as the final horn sounded. Kent State shot a season-best 54% (34-for-63) from the field and a season-best 47.1% (8-for-17) from beyond the three-point arc. Jordan Korinek led all scorers with 28 on 11-for-16 from the field, while Carter finished with a career-high 27 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
The Flashes have found success when they have been able to get to the free throw line. Kent State is No. 7 in the country in free throws made (268) and No. 20 in free throw attempts (359) for a 74.7 percentage that is third in the conference. Kent State's +5.3 rebounding margin is second in the MAC with five games in which it has outrebounded its opponent by double-digits.
Senior Jordan Korinek is the conference's leading scorer (20.4 ppg) and adds 6.1 rebounds per game. The All-MAC forward ranks second nationally in free throws made (109) and sixth in free throw attempts (131). Korinek is the only MAC player who has scored 20 or more points in every league game.
Graduate student McKenna Stephens (10.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) provides a versatile frontcourt presence as Kent State's leading rebounder and second on the team in three-pointers (20). Redshirt senior Zenobia Bess is coming off her best performance of the season (4 points, 4 rebounds).
The starting backcourt of senior Naddiyah Cross (6.6 ppg, 4.5 apg,) and junior Alexa Golden (8.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) are putting up career-bests in every major statistical category while playing more minutes than any other backcourt tandem in the conference. Cross enters the week with 361 career assists and in need of just four to break into Kent State's top 10 all-time. Golden has already made 49 free throws after combining to make only 37 in her first two seasons.
Redshirt sophomore Megan Carter (15.0 ppg) has provided an offensive boost since returning to the lineup at the start of the conference season. Carter has set a new career-high scoring mark in three of the four game she has played this season.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green (9-7, 1-4 MAC) rallied to defeat Akron, 66-64, on Saturday to earn its first MAC victory. The Falcons average 7.5 three-point field goals per game but are last in the conference in assists per game (9.8).
The Falcons are led by guard Carly Santoro (14.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg), who scored a career-high 32 points at the M.A.C. Center last season. Guard Caterrion Thompson (5.4 ppg) leads the conference in three-point shooting (.474) and forward Andrea Cecil (10.6 ppg) provides an interior scoring option.
Series History
• Kent State is 32-49 all-time vs. Bowling Green.
• The Golden Flashes have swept the season series in two of the past three years.
• Kent State is 2-5 at the Stroh Center and 12-25 all-time in Bowling Green.
• In last season's first matchup, Megan Carter made a pull-up jumper from the elbow with 2.2 seconds to play to give the Flashes an 8-78 victory at the M.A.C. Center on Jan. 28, 2017.
• For the two games, Kent State shot 53-for-64 (.828) at the foul line compared to just 24-for-31 (.774) for the Falcons.
• Larissa Lurken led Kent State with 25.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Jordan Korinek added 18.0 rpg to go with 6.5 ppg.
• Carly Santoro paced BG with 21.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg.
FLASHback to Last Meeting
• Kent State used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to spark a comeback win at the Stroh Center.
• The Golden Flashes trailed 39-31 with 6:08 in the third quarter before going on a 38-15 run to take its largest lead (69-54) with 2:01 to play.
• Larissa Lurken led the Flashes with 20 points to go with eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
• Jordan Korinek added 16 points and Megan Carter scored 14 off the bench.
• Andrea Cecil scored a team-high 14 points off the bench for BG.
• Sydney Lambert and Carly Santoro added 11 points apiece.
• Ashley Tunstall (11 rebounds) and Abby Siefker (10 rebounds) help the Falcons to a 45-37 rebounding advantage.
TV / Radio
Dave Wilson will have the call on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel and 640 WHLO and Brad Woznicki and Ken Garland call the game on ESPN3.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes return to the M.A.C. Center to host Ball State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
